THE BREADSTUFFS AND PRODUCE MARKETS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2914, 19 January 1910, Page 8

THE BREADSTUFFS AND PRODUCE MARKETS.

Friday. ! A decided firmness has been the domi- ! nant characteristic of the London market throughout the past week, although cabled advice on Thursday was to the effect that the market was slightly easier owing - to the realisation of profits which was taking place. On the 9th inst. five Australian . cargoes changed hands at 40s 9cl, while for . January shipment the figure for 6000 tons was 41s; for two other cargoes 41s 3d, | and one 41s Igd'. The same cablegram j also stated that for 14,000 quarters of j January and February shipment the price | given was 40s 7gd. These prices represent : the top value the market has at present ■ reached, and naturally, in _ view of ini- i pending harvest operations in Australasia, | keen interest is displayed in th© trend of ■ values. Quite plainly there is a pressure , on the Home market for immediate sup- ; plies, this being evidenced both by the ; firming at present apparent and the , general absence of quotatons for forward ■ shipment, this latter point being an evi- j donee of doubt as to what effect the plac- | ing upon the Home market of the new j Argentine and Australian crop will have. In this connection it is to be noted that the first Australian wheat steamer has sailed with 225,000 bushels on board, while Home cables also record the arrival there . of upwards of 3000 quarters from South ; America. The next month or so should ; prove particularly interesting in the way of deciding the general level wheat will . assume for the current season. i Writing from London under date December 3, “Bcerbohm” reviews the wheat position as follows; —“There has been adistinctly easier tendency this week, brought about by the contmued < absence of finy general dorn-antl, •and tno moio pronoumicued disposition on th© part of Argentine shippers to offer new crop freely and at lower prices. There has been, comparatively speaking, only a small quantity of new crop La Plata wheat sold up to the present, but the more favourable reports received regarding the probable yield and a spell of fine weather this week very favourable for harvest operations have induced more liberal offers, but so far buyers have been slow to respond. The latest cablegrams from Australia point to tne yield being somewhat disappointing, but tbs surplus for export is expected to be well over a million quarters more than from the 1903 crop. The decline in prices since harvest time is to bo attributed entiie.y to the immense exports from Russia; from August 1 to November 25 this country ha.s = exported no less than 11,615,000 quar- ; ters, against 3,585.000 quarters in the cor- . responding months of 1908, 4,825,000 quarter* in 1907, and 5,545,000 quarters in 1900. : In the 12 months ended July 31, 1909, ’ Russia exported 11,705,000 quarters, and in 1908 only 7,324,000 quarters. These comparisons show to what extent Russian supplies have dominated the position during the past few months. The total exports from all countries in the 17 weeks from August 1 have been 24,000,000 quarters, of which Russia has supplied nearly one-ha.lt —viz., 11.615,000 quarters. With the imminent close of navigation in the Azof and some of the northern ports, shipments 1 1 oni Russia must necessarily be on a decidedly reduced scale, but whether they will fall off sufficiently to bring the exports from all countries much below ihe weekly requirements remain's to bo seen. In the three months ending February 25 last the average weekly shipments from all ooun- , tries amounted to 1,055,000 quarters, the j average for the seven weeks to January 14 < being only 810,000 quarters; Russia s pro-j portion for the 13 weeks average 126,010 quarters. This year wo must certainly , be prepared for larger quantities from this source, stocks being much larger at the . ports, and the surplus m that even after taking into aceounut the big quantity already shipped, aho be considerably larger than a year 0 • the Plate and Australia shipments wfii probably be at least equal to last year s, the crops in the two countries togetherbeing estimated at about 2,500,000 quarters larger than in 1908. On the whoie it looks fairly certain that our supplies in th© coming three months will be largerMhan in the previous season, when, however, w were below the estimated requirement, and prices, after declining early m i December, steadily advanced and tewaids the end of February were about 3s highei than at tire beginning of December. Will , the requirements be on a sufficiently large , scale to easily absorb any increase in supplies durng the next three mouths, as com- , pared with last season, taking into account j that To far as the United Kingdom is j concerned, farmers’ deliveries will probably . be larger this year?” ; The World’s Visible Wheat Supply on = December 1.

The cablegram giving the closing quotations for the Australian markets shows that a slight application of value has taken place within the past period. Adelaide, which is the lowest of the three grain centres, being quoted at 4s 3d. Melbourne and Sydney are both fixed at 4s 31,d. In regard to the South Australian crop a table of statistics, prepared and published by the South Australian Chronicle, shows that the carry-over from last season would be about 1,050,000 bushels. South Australia’s yield for this year is officially estimated to be 20,100,000 bushels, as against 22.000,000 bushels last year. As regards Victoria, the crop there is expected to be 28,500,000 bushels, this being half a million bushels ahead of last year; while, in connection with New South Wales, “ Beerbohm ” quotes a private estimate fixing the crop at 30,000,000 bushels. In connection with the current position Ai Sydney, the week’s 'papers report that

shippers have bought at up to 4s 2c! and 4s 2icl (Sydney parity) to cover commitments, and that the Sydney millers, who have so far kept ahoad of the exporters, have purchased at these figures and a trine higher supplies sufficient to give a tortnight's milling, these restricted operations being induced by the desire to cioseiy watch the trend of vanes in the Homo market without having heavy commitments at wrong prices. The report Horn Melbourne is much the same the pru.- b m steady at up to 4s 2d and 4s 2?d. ' Theao reports, of course, date back a v ; eek, and it will be noticed that the prices have since then advanced a full penny. Locally but little buying has been indulged in during the past week owing to the" existent doubt as to what course the full meeting of the New Zealand Flourmillers’ Association would decide to pursue. Up to the date of the meeting—and indeed. in the earlv stages of the meeting itself—prospects of a continuance of the association were not of the brightest. Tnc millers who have so far seceded from the association were not present at the meeting personally, but correspondence from some P of them was read and mil consideration having lengthily been given to the whole matter the opinion of the meean underwent a change to such an extent that though the matter is _ not yet y, settled negotiations being still in piogmss, it is shrewdly suspected in some quarters owing to the willingness of inilleiA to enter into engagements, that a satisfactoiy settlement is confidently hoped for and ex pseted. The anxiety of practically the whole milling fraternity to have the matter satisfactorily arranged for a continuance of operations is well known, and it is fairly certain that, in view of the epecdily approaching period for the commencement of operations, the next week or 10 days should seo the position definitely Cleared U'P on? way or the other. Even though the eight millers who so far are cut should decide to remain in that position, the feeling among many millers is that the. association should bo continued. In that ca-e, however, ' the one point to be considered is. of course, whether the expense of individual competition will be ,grca.u®r or less than the quota of expense due to the association commensurate with the advantages returned. As regards the price of the. cereal, lines of old season s Hunter’s have been sold during the week at 4s Id on trucks in the Ashburton district, and velvet at 4s 2d to 4s 3 2 d, according to the railage position. Already a speculative contract has been entered, into for new season’s wheat, between 3000 and 4000 bushels having been sold m the Waimate district on the basis of 3s 6d on trucks—iMiiirch delivery. Some lines hayc lately been on offer at this price, but the majority were withdrawn. New esiason’s Hunter’s were this week off-cTC'd at 4s, f.o.b. Lyttelton and Timaru. Advices from many quarters are to the effect that so soon as stability is gdven to the position by the settlement of the flou.rmillers’ matter millers generally will be eager buyers of the new crop, while shippers are also, of course, prepared to act immediately the opening occurs. The association’s tariff for flour is: Sacks. £lO 15s; 100’s. £11; 50’s, £ll 10s: 25’s, £ll 15s. The shipping price Is £lO 10s f.o.b. Pollard,. £4 per ton, both f.o.b. and locallv; bran, £3 5s locally, and £3 per ton f.o.b. Oatmeal stands at £lO 10s per ton, and pearl barley at £l4 10s. In connection with the oat market the

■week 3ms shown some little inquiry, ' especially from Australia, -far Best quality A grade Gallons. For this quality there is, and h)as been, a very good demand, I with the result by this time that very few lines .remain. For such as have been procurable rates ranging up to Is Hid and 2s per bushel have been given, while for B grade Is 10jd (f.0.b., s.i.) was given. In connection with the new season’s crop, cutting of which has already commenced , in some places, a few offers have been made of duns at Is - 7d to Is 7-Jkl on trucks at country stations, but so far as is known no closures were made at these | figures, though a sale has taken place at a lower quotation. The estimates prepared by the Government show that the acreage this year is iess than Last year by some 29,000. and altogether it is reckoned that the crop will be less by about 1,200,000 bushels. As regards prospects, the Home market is fairly promising, though a factor to be taken into account is that there will soon be placed upon it the first of the new Argentina crop, which is at present quoted for March delivery at 15s. Last year it was not anticipated that a Home, market would bo opened up from here, and the result was that a very great deal of the business was entered into while prices were low. Now, however, the price locally is right up to exporter's margin, and, it being known that exportation will bo done, it is very obvious that local prices must be subject to London values. Though the past week showed a little activity, merchants as a whole are but marking time till the country sends forth its oats, which should certainly be scon as the season has been entirely favourable. Advice so _fails that the southern crops look ’particularly w-cll, but that the Canterbury and North' Otago iacres will mofc yield ao generously. The high prices which chaff realised at the opening of the week had the natural effect of drawing forth from the country such supplies as still remained, and this factor had again in turn the natural effect of reducing prices. While £5 10s was being paid on the first days, the price at closing had dropped to £3 7s 6d and £3 ss. Straw has also had a good ■ vogue, but likewise now shows a slight decline. In connection with cheese, in consequence of the tone of the London market several sales have taken place on the basis of sid per lb. Detailed prices locally are as follow; Chaff.—Prime oaten sheaf (white oats), £3' 5s ; black oats, £3 ss; medium, £2 10s to £2 15s; inferior and discoloured, £2 per ton and upwards. Potatoes. —New (best), 6s to 6s 6d per cwt; medium, 4s to 4s 6d Butter. —Prices are : Dairy pats 6d ; milled 7d to 7£d; separator pats, 6d to 7d; bulk, 9cl per lb; Taieri and Peninsula pats. 113 d (id rebate for cash); Taieri and Peninsula bulk, lljd. Cheese.—Local lots, 6d to 6id per lb; export, sid per lb. Straw.—Oaten, £1 10s to £1 12s 6d per ton ; wh eaten, 30s per ton (pressed, ex truck). Clover hay, £2 10s per ton. Onions. —Melbourne and Sydney, £8 to £8 10s per ton. Eggs.—Fresh, lid to lijd per dozen. ■ Bacon.—Rolls, 8cl; flitches. 7d; hams, 9cl; bacon pigs, 3gd; porkers, 4d. Poultry.—Hens. 5s to 3s fid per pair; roosters. ss; ducks. 3s to 3s 6d ; best, 4s 6d; turkeys—hens sd, gobblers 8d per lb. FRUIT REPORT. Business throughout the week has been decidedly good, owing to the heavy lines coming 'forward and the keen competition induced by the seasonal demand for fruit of nearly all” kinds. Owing, however, to the plentiful supply of fresh local fruit, imported fruits are suffering somewhat from neglect. For currants Some good prices have been realised, this being duo to the inadequacy of the supply to the demand. For red currants the record price of 7d per lb was paid, while black currants off the stalk brought 4|cl, and on the stalk from 43d to 43d. The Roxburgh fruit has been coming to the market very plentifully, especially apricots, though it is expected the supply of these will fall off shortly. Peaches are now in short supply, and notably good samples are bringing from 3£d to 5-|d per lb, with jam sizes ranging from 23d to 3d. Local cherries are almosc exhausted. The prices ruling are as follow : Oranges.—Americans, 18s to 20s; have slow sale. Lemons. —Messina halves, 10s 6d to 12s 6d: whole cases. 25s 6d. Bananas. —Fiji green sold at from 7s to 9s. Demand not extra, good owing to presence of large lots of Teviot a.nd local small fruits. Apples.—A few local windfalls only offering. A small lot of Christchurch dessert realised 6s to 7s 6d per case. Pines, 7 s to 8s 6d. Cherries. —Victorian; Orates, 10s to 12e; quarter-cases-, 5s to 8s ; Tasmanian, 8s 6d to 10a 6d : Canterbury, 4d to 6d. Raspberries are in short supply, selling at sgd to 6d. Black Currants. —Scarce. On stalk, 3jd to 4^d; off stalk, 4Jd'. Red Currants.—Scarce; 3d to 4d. A record price was obtained to-day—viz., 7d per lb. Peaches. —Roxburgh, to 3d ; choice, up to 5-gd. Apricots.—Roxburgh and! Alexandra—small jams, If d to 2d; medium, 2d to 2J,d; choice, up to 3(,d. Plums. —lid to 3d per lb. Grapes.—Local hothouse, from Is 3d to Is 8dVegetables.—Cabbages, from 6d to Is 6cl per sack; cauliflowers. Is to 3s per sack. Rhubarb—choice local, 6s to 7s per cw t. Lettuce, from 6d to Is per ease. Cucumbers, 2e to 3s per dozen. Tomatoes: Auckland, 2s to 3s 6d per box; Nelson, 4s to 6s; Christchurch, hothouse, 4d to 6d per Jb. Green peas, from Is 6d to 2s 6d per bag of 241 h. Gooseberries, 13d to 2d per lb; ripe, 2-id to 4id. New Potatoes, —Peninsula grown, 3s to 4s per case; southern and Camaru, 6s 6cl to 7s 6d per cwt. • ~ Honey.—Choice, to 4|d per lb; 101 d tins, 3s 6d to 4s; choice sections, 5s to 7s per dozen; medium, 3s to 4s t>a PG Peinute.’—Java, 2d : Japanese, to 3d. Preserved ginger. 7£d per lb. Walnuts.—Good demand. Prime quality, to 63d. Barcelona nuts, 63d to 6 t,ct. Brazil nu J to 83d per lb.. IMPORT MARKET. General distributive business in all lines fcontinues good, although a further improvemont is expected ms soon as the bulk of

the people return from the country. _ There are (practically no alterations in prices to record. The Morayshire, which is due to arrive hero next week, brings a large shipment of general lines. Amongst other things there is Golden Fleece caustic soda, a commodity which has been in short supply. Hudson’s extract, of soap will also be rendered available by her arrival. Three Castles cigarettes, which nave been out of the market for the past two or three weeks, are expected to arrive per the Morayshire. A further advance in linseed oil has to be recorded, and the new price stands in the meantime at 3s 7d for raw and 3s 8d for boiled. It is considered, owing to the movement, of the world’s markets, that this price will be liable to a still further advance. In connection with all hardware commodities, advice has been received from London that a general advance in all lines is expected owing to the decided revival in trade.

id a a <P bo a) CU Pi •g . O ® a g i <6 O tS bi a S a o H P a Pi Qrs. Qrs. Qrs. 33/0 1909 .. 8,180,0-00 7.595.000 15.725.000 1993 .. 7,400,000 10,500,000 17^900,000 32/3 1297 .. 7.730,000 8,250,000 15,980,000 34/7 3 90S .. 9^345,000 9,850,000 19,195,000 26/1 1905 .. 8.870,000 3,550,000 17,420,000 28/8 1904 .. 10,445,000 8,015.000 18.460,000 30/5 1903 .. 8,020.000 7.825.000 16,445,000 26/6 1903 .. 8,630,000 10^330,000 13.960,000 25/0 1901 .. 9,005,000 11,625.000 20.630,000 27/1 1900 .. 8,630.000 12,080,000 20,760,000 27/0 1-399 .. 8,230.000 11.960,000 20.180,000 25/8 1893 .. 7,000,000 6,500,000 13,500,000 27/7 1897 8,310,000 7,100,000 15.410.000 19.283.000 33/8 1899 .. 9,033.000 10,250,000 33/4 1895 .. 10.443,000 12,000,000 32,443,000 26/2 1894 .. 9,060,000 15,950,000 25,010,000 20/7