NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE IN LONDON. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE IN LONDON. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

'" \-\ liONDONf July 21. |v - WOOIi. - , - ,*■ TJbis. morning I "Jiave" xeceived fro.m Messrs Dalgety, and Co." their report on the fourth series of colonial wool sales which opened on ' the 4th insf. and was brought to a close on the 14th.- Messrs Dalgety- and Co. write: —

- "Although the available total before the opening of the sale -was given as 119,000 bales, it now appears that owing- to colonially-pur-chased parcels " being sent forward for sals from Yorkshire and the Continent, $he actual quantity of : first-hand wool reached 125,000 bales. • Of these 114,000 bales were sold— 6B,ooo to the Home trade, 39,000. bales -to the. Continent, and- 7000 > bales to America, — leaving 11,000 -bales to be carried ' forward to* next series, of which, about 7000' were not offered. 1 "The attendance throughout was large and '/biddings very l spirited, a general advance being recorded except in the case of some of the medium croasbreds, for which America paid such extreme prices in the May. sales. As is usually the case when the offerings consist largely of crossbred wools the bulk of the purchases fell to the share of the Home trade, this tendency .. being increased by the large purchases of' Home-grown wools made by .America in the interval between the May and July sales having so. depleted the quantities 'thereof, available for Home requirements as to.' drive "buyers .to' nil the shortage by purchases of" colonials. The demand- for merinos "was -chiefly on Continental account, though both the Home ,trade and America secured a fair share of the best descriptions. "A" considerable quantity of the Australian offerings consisted of speculators' lots, many of them of very poor quality and which in a dull market would have been almost unsaleable, but which, thanks to the sma.ll supplies, mostly sold at good profits to the shippers. Buyers complain tha-tat the prices now" ruling for the raw material" there is no margin for any- profit, but, provided general trade continues fairly good, the world's supplies of wool in the near future are so moderate that there does not seem much" fear of any material set back, and buyers who, -whilst old stocks of wool were still fairly plentiful in spite of the continuance of the drought, refused to believe in the full extent of the prospective shortage, are now broioght face to face with it, just at a time when the production is again on the increase, though on too small a scale to at once, or indeed for some time ahead, make scod the previous shortages. "We quote :-Good merino wools, 5 per cent to n J*x cent - lise on cl&Sing mteS f lasTseries ; inferior and faulty wools par to 5 per cent, rise on closing rates of last series; Le crossbred wools, par to 5 per cent, nse on closing rates of last series; medium crossbred closing rate ologing TesVlast se'rie^ coarse cxossWs, 10 per before the 19th September, when it ib esta225 that the total available for J^^J ing old stock, will reach about 90,000 bales, and as the interval between the two series wall £ no less than 67 days it seems probable that by thai tin* buyers mil urgently require to replenish their stocks in order to keep their machinery moving, and that a good result may ! reasonably be espeuted,*

NEW ZEALAND MEAT,

I hear this afternoon from, the C. C. and D. Company that the Ruapehu has just ariived with. 44,857 carcases of New Zealand nmtton and 73,660 carcases of New Zealand lamb. Canterbury sheep, the report states, are very difficult to find, and the quotations given must be regarded as almost nominal. The practice of entering tegs and heavy lambs as mutton mates the tables of imports a little misleading as to the respective quantities of mutton and lamb received. Light Canterbury sheep, when obtainable, are worth up to 4|d per Ib, medium weights can be bought at 4Jd, and heavy sheep at id per Ib. North Island sheep are rather better, but they are not selling freely at the firmer prices; some light carcases are making up to 4£d peT lb, and good medium-weight sheep are averaging a firm 31d per ib. Heavy carcases make 3|d, and ewes sell down to 3£d per lb Light-weight carcases of lamb are very scarce, and have appreciated in value. The best brands of Canterbury are worth sld per lb firm, and have touched 6d per lb, and North Island lambs of similar weight comma ad sfd per lb. All other weights are weakening rapidly, and the supply appears more than, adequate for the demand. Canterbury lambs of 38lb to 401b cannot he quoted higher than sfd, although a few made up to sj§d, and North Island lambs of the same grade sell ai; 5Jd to .sid per Ib. Tegs and heavy lambs are very difficult to sell at the current quotations of 4|d to 4|d for tegs and 4£d to 5d for heavy lambs. New Zealand beef isi said to find a ( slow sale at slightly weaker quotations.