CANTERBURY CRAIN AND PRODUCE MARKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 3594, 30 January 1923, Page 13

CANTERBURY CRAIN AND PRODUCE MARKET.

(Lyttelton Times, January 26.) TTie broken weather experienced tlii> _ month has interfered a great deal witlk harvesting operations, especially thrashing. Ihe result is that very little new season’s stuff has been marketed so far The heavy rain which fell yesterday will interfere still further with harvesting, and it will also do damage to the crops. The extent of this damage will depend on the duration of the wet weather and the sort of weather that follows. if _ a troed drying wind is experienced after the rain the damage will be minimised. Oat# that are in stack will hardly be affected, but the trouble is that, on account of the frequent rains, not many have been stacked so far. On the other hand, a large number are in stcok, and these are liable to be discoloured by the rain. Thus the quality of the oats will bo lowered, though the quantity will still be there. Wheat in stook is not likely ,to be damaged to the same extent as oats, as it does not discolour so easily.. Yesterdays rain mil not do the standing , crops any gjod but if a (rood drying wind follows the dam ie wTbe Minimised. So far there have no reports of sprouting. It is very unfortunate that January have been such a wet month, as at the beginning of the year the crops were looking well, and the prospects for a good harvest were bright. _ j At the present time merchants are offer r mg' from 2s 7d to 2s 9d ppr bushel on trucks at country stations for Garton oats* from 2s 6d to 2s 3d for Duns (dark), and from 2s 6d to 3s for Algerians. Rvegrass. which is an early crop, is likely to be affected by the wet weather in the same manner as oats. Merchants are therefore now prepared to pay more for good bright seed, and farmers, who are fortunate enough to have their ryegrass thrashed should have no difficulty in obtaining 4s per bushel, on trucks at country stations for good quality stuff. , The rain should do good to late cr “ p *l subh as peas and linseed. A good deal of cocksfoot has been cut, but owing to the wet weather little has been thrashed, and yesterday’s rain is likely to do some damage bv affecting the quality of the seed. Verv little forward business is being done in potatoes. Merchants are offering from £3 5s to £3 10s per ton on trucks at country stations, but farmers are not keen sellers at these prices, most of them preferring to wait and see if blight develops in the crops. So far Marshland is the only district from which blight has been reported. At this time last year merchants were buying potatoes forward at from to 15s to £4 per ton on trucks at country Autumn-sown onions are worth about £6 per ton on trucks at country stations. As far as the main cron is concerned, very little forward business is being done for prices will be governed by the quantity exported to Vancouver and the damage dona by blight, which is reported to have made its appearance in Marshland. The prices quoted below are mainly for old season’s stuff, and are therefore purely nominal. . Tho following are quotations for proauca to be paid to farmers at country stations, free, of commission, sacks extra, except tvhero otherwise stated:—

Milling Wheat.—According to Government prices. Tuscan, 5s per bushel f.0.b.; Hunters, 6s l^d; Pearl, 6s 7jd. Fowl Wheat,.—4s 3d to 4s 6d per bushel, f.o.b. Oats.—Garton, 2s 7d to 2s 9d per bushel; Algerians (new season's), 2s 6d to 3s; Duns (dark coloured), 2s 6d to 2s 9d ; light Coloured 2s to 2s 2d. Chaff. —£3 10s to £4 per ton. Potatoes—£3 5s to £3 10s (forward). Onions —£6 per ton (autumn-sown). White Glover. —lCd to Is per lb. lied Clover. —9d to lOd per lb. Perennial Ryegrass.—ss 6d to 4s per bushel (new season’s). Italian Ryegrass.—3s 6d to 4s per bushel (new season’s). Cocksfoot.—4jd per lb. Barley.—2s 9d to 3s 6d per bushel. Cape Barley.—2s 6d to 2s 9d per bushel. Linseed.—£l4 10s per ton. Flour.—According to Government prices: JC'Olb sacks, £ls 10s; 1001 b bags, £l6 10s; »01b bags, £l7; 251 b bags, £l7 10s, all per ton, f.0.b., Lyttelton, Timaru, and Oamaru. Bran.—According to Government prices : JBS to £5 10s per ton, according to packing, f.0.b., southern ports. Pollard. —According to Government prices: £8 to £3 10s per ton, according to packing, f.0.b., southern ports. CHRISTCHURCH WOOL SALES. SEVERAL CLASSES ADVANCE. CHRISTCHURCH, January 23. The third Christchurch sale of the season was commenced to-day and will be concluded to-morrow. The catalogue comprises 25,094 bales. n'noM 11 i.« u i ■ i i

Tnere was a full bench of buyers, including representatives of French, Japanese, and German houses. Competition from these operators, however, was limited, the bulk of the wool going to Home. American buyer's and Bradford houses competed for all classes of wool. The wool was in good condition, the season being a particularly favourable one. It was well grown and free from eartliiness and stain than is usually the case at this time of the year. Several well-known station clips, which in the past have invariably been sent Home for sale, were offered for the first time locally. The demand throughout, though somewhat irregular, showed a stronger tone than at the preceding sale for super wools of the finer grades, with little alteration in medium classes. The improvement averaged up to Id per lb on half bred, and from £d to Id on three-quarterbred. Crossbreds met with a keener market, and the average advance for super wools of this class was from id to Id per lb. Whilst super merino wools were somewhat better, inferior wool sold scarcely so freely as at the December sale. The notable feature of the sale, however, was the activity for pieces, which averaged for fine sorts from l£d to 2d per lb more. In a number of cases the pieces of a clip brought within a few pence of the fleeces. Home buyers and local mills, and fellmongers were all in the competition for these. The local mills did not operate so freely as at the two earlier sales.. They secured the bulk of the merino wool that was offering, but did not figure in halfbred competition to the same extent. There appeared to be more buyers holding orders than at the last sale, and, as a consequence, purchasers were more widely distributed. The values were as under: Merino.—Super, 24d to 28}d; medium, 21|d to 23£d; inferior, !S£d to ‘2od.

Corriedale.—Super, 22id to 25id; medium, 18Jd to 21&d. Halfbred.—Super, 22Jd to 26d; medium, 19Jd to 22£d; inferior, 13Jd to ltfcl. Three-quarterbred.—Super, 16d to 20|d ; medium, 13£d to 15|d; inferior, BJd to 13d. Crossbred.—Super, 13d to 15|d; medium, t# 12|d; inferior, Bfd to IOJd Coarse Crossbred.—Super, IOJd to 12d; medium, 9d to 10Jd; inferior, 7id to -B|d. Merino pieces, 15d to 23,!d ; halfbred pieces, lid to 21Jd; crossbred pieces, 7d to lid; locks, 5d to lid; bellies (merino), 14d to l&2d; halfbred, lid to 161 d; crutchings 61d to s>Jd. January 24. The wool sale was continued this morning, when the final catalogue, comprising 6340 bales, was offered. It contained a number of good station clips for which there was keen competition, and generally for all good quality wools the market was inclined to be brighter than on the previous day. Several new figures were established, the catalogue providing what is a local record for merino and also three-quarter and crossbred wool. A six-bale lot of merino sold at 23-Jd. A seven-bale lot of three-quarter-bred made 22Jd, and eight bales of crossbred 18Jd. Corriedale made up to 26d, the best Corriedale price of the sale.. Other improved prices on the previous day were: Corriedale pieces 22Jd, crossbred pieces lid, and halfbred bellies 18Jd. On an average the market was up on the December sale from Jd to ljd per lb. Super halfbred improved by |d to lid bulk, by a good Id, with medium sorts at a lesser advance, and no alteration in shoddy qualities. Tile most notable rise was in three-quarter-breds, which showed an improvement of from Id to ljd for super sorts. There was little difference in merinos, but best qualities of crossbreds advanced up to Id. Medium also improved |d to Id per lb. There was a strong market for pieces, which was maintained throughout, and generally an improvement was shown on December rates of lid to 2d per lb.