THE BREADSTUFFS AND PROPRODUCE MARKETS

Otago Witness, Issue 3384, 22 January 1919, Page 17

THE BREADSTUFFS AND PROPRODUCE MARKETS

Friday evening. A recent cablegram from Broomhall's, Liverpool, states: —"The world's wheat supplies are ample for the Allied and neutral countries, but, allowing -fully for the requirement of the Central Powers and Russia, they are insufficient. Argentine is experiencing a rainy harvest, and a fair amount of damage has been caused to the wheat. In India beneficial rains have fallen." 'Harvesting began in the Argentine in December, and extends into the first two months of the year. ' India's months are February and March. The cablegram from this leading wheat authority would) seem to indicate that a ready market will be found for Australian wheat if it can be got to the central markets at the right time. The acreage in wheat is less than last season, but the crops are looking well. A good yield is expected if the necessary sunshine comes to ripen the crops. All of last season's milling wheat has been marketed, and there is now but small supplies of fowl wheat available. The demand for fowl wheat is keen at • up to 7s per bushel, sacks extra. Prices of millers' lines are as follow: Flour, £ls 10s; bran, £6 10s; pollard, £8 10s, pearl barley, £25 10s; oatmeal, £29. The shipping demand for oats is quiet, and practically no sales for export have been recorded during the week. The market, however, is firm owing to the demand from local millers. Some parcels held! for shipixnient have been sold to t-hem at up to 5s 9d per bushel, sacks extra, ex store, but the quantity offering is small. More attention is- now being paid to forward business, and several parcels have been sold locally at up to 5s BJd, f.o.'b., s.i.j spread delivery from April to December. According to country reports, the oats crops are very backward, and the harvest will be late, probably early in- March. PRODUCE REPORT. Consignments of chaff are not too plentiful, and hardly sufficient for local requirernenfcs. Good quality is saleable at up to £8 10s, sacks extra, and more attention is being paid to medium quality, which is worth £5 10s to £7 per ton, sacks extra. Stocks of lost season's ryegrass seed are being worked down, sales of 29-301 b seed being recorded at 6s per bushel. Merchants are now inclined to hold the balance of their Beed, as prospects for the coming crop are not too bright. There will be very little available,. and it is reported that frost has affected some of the crops. Consignments of potatoes are in excess of requirements. Prices axe expected to decline further, and in the meantime only email parcels are being purchased by retailers. A parcel of onions arrived by the Kaiapoi on Thursday. Prices ranged from 16s to 21a per cwt., .according to the conditions of purchase. A further supply from Melbourne may be expected in about a month's time. Eggs are in short supply. Dairy butter is plentiful. Supplies of bacon are not equal to the dtexnand. Current wholesale prices are as follow:—Fowl Wheat.—New Zealand-grown, to 7s per bushel, sacks extra. Chaff.—Prime oaten sheaf, to £8 10s; medium to good, £5 10s to £7, Oaten straw, £3 5s to £3 10s; wheaten, £3 to £3 ss. Eggs.—Plain, Is 4d; stamped, Is sd. Butter. Milled bulk, best, Is 3Jd to Is BJd; medium;, Is 2ftd to Is 3d per lb; separator pats, Is 2d. Honey.—9d per lb. Pigs.—Baconers, 9d per lb; porkers, 9£d. Bacon.—Local rolls, Is 3Jd per lb; Christchurch rolls, Is 3£d; hams. Is 2&d; local ham rolls, Is 4d. FRUIT REPORT. Fairly heavy supplies of peaches have reached the market from Otago Central. These are meeting with an excellent demand. Small quantities only of apricots are coming to hand. Plums are still in short supply and are bringing high prices. Further supplies may ha expected from Auckland next week. A few honey pears came forward from Otago Central this morning, and brought high prices. Supplies of. tomatoes from Canterbury have slackened off considerably. The few locally grown hothouse available bring high values The black and red currants arriving now bear evidence of the recent wet weather. Prices as a consequence are very erratic. Supplies of both ripe and green gooseberries have slackened ofi. Ripe gooseberries are bringing good prices. The raspberry season is backward. Full supplies should be available within tie next week or ten days. Strawberries are getting towards the end of tho season. All lots coming forward aro readily taken up. Tho same statement may be rnadle as regards cherries. Tho second crop of rhubarb is now coming in. In consequence of the high prices of other fruits housewives may turn their attention more to rhubarb for jam making. Heavy supplies of peas were available to-

wards the end of the week, and prices have dropped considerably. Locally-grown potatoes 'showed a drop in prices in tho fruit marts towards the end of the week. Cauliflowers and cabbages are still very soarce, and all prime samples meet a ready sale. A few small lots of marrows reached the market this week, and sold at extremely high rates. I Current wholesale values are as follow: Apples.—Sturmers; no first class on the market, a few small-sized realised 18s; a few small local cookers brought 3Jdi per lb. Cherries.—ls 6d to 2s per lb; others, la 3d to la 6d. Black currants, 4Jd on stalk; 5d cleaned. Red currants, 4d to 5d for best. Strawberries. —Waimate-grown, Is to Is 3d per pottle; local, to Is 9d per pottle. Hothouse Tomatoes.—Local, to Is 9d per lb; Christchurch, Is 4d to Is 6d. Peaches.—Half cases, 4d to s£d; crates, to 9d per lb. Pears.—Otago Central, s£d to sfd. Apricots.—ln. oases, 5d to 6cL Plums.—Cooking, 3d to 6d; dessert, 7£d to Bd. . Cabbages, choice, to 6s dozen. Cauliflowers, choice, 12s; prime, 6s to 8s; medium, 3s to 5s per dozen. Parsnips, new season's, Is 6d to 2s pe r dozen. Lettuce: Choice, Is 6d to 2s; good, to Is; medium, 6d to 9d per dozen. Rhubarb, in cases, ljdl to 2Jd. Cucumbers, 16s to 20s per dozen for Large; medium, 12s to 13s;. small, 8s to 10s. Green peas, ljd to 3d. Gooseberries, 2d to 3d per lb; ripe, 4d to 6d per lb. . • Potatoes.—New potatoes, l|d to 2Jd, Penin-sula-grown ; Forbury, l£d to 2d; Auckland, Id to ljd. , Mushrooms.—7d to 9d for best; others, 4Jd to 6d per lb. Vegetable. Marrows. —Small cases, 4s 6d *o MERCHANDISE MARKET. Advice has been received that the Sydney rice market shows an advance of £2 per ton. Practically all the dressed rice that comes to New Zealand is cleaned either in Melbourne or Sydney, principally Sydney. Further supplies of Havelock tobacco have been received from Melbourne, but not nearly sufficient to meet the demand. Fry's breakfast cocoa is now quoted at lis per dozen for quarters, and 21s for halves. A cablegram lias been reoeived from Calcutta announcing an increase of £5 per ton in the price of Indian lentils. Desiccated oocoanut is in very short supply. The local quotation is 7d per lb, with a firm market. Queensland pineapples have advanced in prioe. The local quotation is now about 14s per dozen. Peorfold's wines have ladvanced 4s to 5s per case. Mellin's food, large, has been reduced to 25s 6d per dozen. The southern mills are now quoting No. 1 axe bandies at 22s per dozen. COMMERCIAL CABLEGRAMS. LONDON, January 14. Copper: Spot, £34 10s; forward, £BS. Tin: Spot, £254 15s; forward, £246 15s. Lead: Spot, £4O; forward, £32. Spelter: Spot, £56; forward), £45. Silver: 48 7-16 d per ounce.—A. and N.Z. Cable. LONDON, January 18. Rubber: Para, 30id; plantation, 24|d; smoked, 23gd. Hemp: Slow, unchanged. Jute: Inactive. January-March arrivals. £35 10s.—A. and N.Z. Cable. . DUNEDIN MARKETS. Mr B. J. M'Arthur, George street, reports paying for produce during the week ending the 21srt inst., as follows: Scamped fresh Eggs I Honey (J lb pat), 5/- . 1/6 doz Honey (bulk), 9d lb Salt Butter,' 1/2 lb | Honey (section), 7/6 doa Scd. Butter, 1/3 lb | Honey (Cartoaa), 1 lb, 6/Prime Sep. Butter I alb, 15/- doa wanted, l/.J lb | Beeswax, 2/Bacon Pigs, 9d lb | Compressed yeast, 9d packet. Beetle's Rennet, Is 3d. THE OAMARU MARKETS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) OAMARU, January 18. The local grain and produce market is in a condition of absolute stagnation. There remains nothing to sell, and so it will be until the new season's grain becomes available. Unless there is a very marked change in tho climatic conditions that time must be some distance off. This week has been marked again by broken weather, with intermittent rays of warm sunshine, recurring rain ijhowers, and a low temperature at intervals. It has been what farmers designate good filling weather, in that it enables the grain to continue to swell before ripening; but it means that the harvest must be later than usual, and that it will probably be well into March before much wheat Is ..seen on the market. However, increased yields will be obtained, audi good harvest weather Is generally experienced in autumn. Still, farmers would be well pleased to have a good spell of sunshine to perfeot and ripen their cereal crops. SOUTHLAND MARKET REPORT. (From Our Own Correspondent.) INVERCARGILL, January 18. There is little indication on the part of merchants to quote for the new crop of oats for forward delivery, and there is an insufficiency of oats in store to carry on till the new crop is harvested. The s.s. Te Anau will leave' Bluff to-day for Auckland with a cargo of 100 tons, principally produce, including 6200 sacks of oats and 300 sacks of grass seed. This reduces the quantity of oats in Bluff store to about 14,000 sacks. Reports as to the new crop prospects are not entirely unfavourable, as, although there is certain to be a late harvest, oats on the whole are fairly well. Southland is well known for its recuperative powers in the autumn, audi is is hoped that, as usual, conditions will be favourable. In view of the northern markets being overstocked with chaff and the promise of large supplies in . Marlborough, where new chaff will be on the market shortly, prices have declined locally, good quality being worthlittle more than £6 on trucks at country sidings. Another factor in the direction of a decline lies in the fact that a considerable quantity of oats was sown down for chaffing, and there is a probability of thero being a very considerable exportable surplus this season. „ -,,,,., In some of the more favoured districts the cutting of ryegrass has now commenced, but nothing definite is known as to the yield. The area saved for seed) is much smaller than usual, and owing to the unfavourable season and the wet weather experienced at present, it is expected that the quality of the seed will not be as good as last season. There is a fair inquiry from the north for heavyweight last season's seed, for which merchants are asking on the basis of 6s per bushel, f.o.b. for 28lb seed. The fibre market shows a decidedly back-

ward tendency, primarily duo to the reduction in the maximum prices fixed for manilo. by the authorities. Low-fair is worth nominally £34 per ton, but it is doubtful if buyers could be found) at the present moment at £3O. Even if shipping facilities promise to bo greater in the near future, that factor cannot possibly help prices of fibre. GRAIN AND PRODUCE MARKET. Donald Reid and Co., Ltd., report:—We held our usual weekly auction sal© and produce at our stores this morning, when values ruled as under:—Oats: We have strong inquiry for milling and best feed lines of Gartons and eparrowbille. Stocks in store are now depleted, and the quantity on offer is limited to small lots from country stations. Other qualities also meet with good demand at quotations. We quote: Prime milling, 5s 9d to 5s lOd; good to best feed, 5a 6d to 5s 8d; medium, 5s 2d to 6s 4d); iniexior, 4s 6d to 5s per bushel, sacks extra. Wheat: Sales ere confined to email lots of fowl wheat, which, are readily quitted on arrival. Potatoes: The new season's crop is now coming in more freely. Best freshly-dug lots are„ fetching ljd to 2d, others Id to ljd per lb. Chaff: Shippers are not operating freely, and on this account it is difficult to induce offers for large lines. .There is good local demand, and all prime lots meet ready sale on arrival. We quote: Best oaten sheaf, £8 5s to £8 10s; choice, to £8 12s 6d; medium to good, £7 to £8; light and discoloured, £6 to £6 15s per ton, bags extra. Dalgety and Co., Ltd., report as follows:—Oats: During the past week transactions in this cereal have been restricted owing io the light offerings from the country. The market remains firm, millers taking any suitable lines that become available, while feed lines find, a ready outlet for local '* requirements Owing to the continued unfavourable weather the harvesting of the incoming crop will be much later than usual. Prime milling, 5s 9d to 5s lOd; feed lines, to 5s 8d per bushel, sacks extra. Wheat: Outside of small consignments of fowl wheat, which meet ready sale on arrival at full rates, there is no other business passing. Potatoes: Arrivals of late have been heavier, and in consequence the market bears an easier tone. Best freshlydug local tubers ere receiving preference from the retail trade. Unripe and badlly-graded lines are more difficult to dispose of on arrival. Best local grown, to 2d per lb; others, from Id per lb. Chaff: The bulk of the consignments coming forward during the past week have been of inferior to medium quality, for which the demand is slack. Choice bright heavy oaten sheaf is in short supply, and being most sought after by feeders is readily quitted on arrival at quotations. Choice quality, to £8 12s 6d; good oaten sheaf, £8 5s to £8 10s; fair to good, £7 to £7 15s; inferior and medium, £5 to £6 per ton, sacks extra. PROPERTY SALE. Messrs B. L. Maoassey and Co., on the 15th offered at their auction rooms, on behalf of the trustees of Hannah Francies Smiths estate, several freehold properties. There was a large attendance "of buyers. A quarter-acre section, situated at the corner of Elgin road and Mitchell avenue, Mornington, was sold for £l5O. The properties situated in Kircaldy street, St. Kilda, and Mitchell avenue, Mornington, were passed m.