COMMERCIAL

Southland Times, Issue 17656, 14 February 1916, Page 4

COMMERCIAL

AGRICULTURAL EVENTS POE, THE WEEK ENDING FEBRUARY 19: —Tuesday, February 10. — Stock sale at Gore. Air Joint Sullivan’s clearing sale at Brmedalc, Fairfax, by Messrs J. It. Mills and Son. —Thursday, February 17.—• Stock sale at Riverton. —Friday, February IS.— Stock sale at Riversdale. BRAY. BROS. Bray Bros., Ltd., submit their weekly market report, as under: — New I’otatoes—Full supply, £6 ton. Inferior unsaleable. Onions —G/G cwt.New season’s arriving Chaff —Inferior, 1/- to 1/6 bag. Prims, £3 ton. Good to £4 10/-. Oats —Discoloured, 10/- bag; bright, 13/- to 11/- sack. Wheat—lS/- sack. Linseed Meal —2-1/- cwt. Barley Pollard—7/0 per lOOlbs. Pressed Hay and Straw —2/3 to 2/6 bale. Fescue—£2 10/- ton, on trucks. Vegetables—Cabbage, full supply, 2/to 3/- sack. Cucumbers, 2d to 4Mid each. Turnips, Id bundle. Carrots, Id to IVzd bundle. Fruit —Big supplies arriving. Plums, 1 d to 2F..d lb; peaches, Ipjd to 2%d lb; apricots, 1 pi d to 2’4d lb; Nelson tomatoes, 3d to 4&d lb; Alexandra tomatoes, 3d to 6"id lb. Pigs—Stores, 27/(1 to 35/-. Poultry—Hens, l/3d to l/6d. Furniture—ln new designs always arriving. Demand is exceptionally good. Sales being very satisfactory. AAe Have some nice lines in Japanese vases and other ware, and prices are right. EXCHANGE SALE ROOOMS. Messrs McKay Bros, report the following prices ruling during the past week P Poultry—Fair entry. Hens, 1/3 to 1/8; ducks, 2 1 lo 2/6: we can do with a large entry next Saturday as numbers of orders arc already on hand. Pigs—Small entry. Demand good; suckers, 12/- to 17 -; weaners lo .18/6; stores, 27/- to 32/6. Fruit —The week was again characterised by heavy arrivals. Apricots, 'finished; greengages, nearly finished, 3d per lb; peaches (free stone), .1 %d to 2%d; plums, IV-d to 2 1 / kd; pears (cooking), 7/-; pears (dessert), 3/- to 4/- per box; 7/- to 7/- case; apples (cooking), G/6 per ease; dessert apples (American), 12/G per case: oranges. 17/G; lemons, 20/-; tomatoes, hothouse, 8d; outdoor, •Id to (id; nectarines, 2 Aid to 3d. ■Wheat —Largo arrivals of primest quality fowl wheat, price, 22/6 per sack. Chaff.—Market rather sluggish. Kx store, £1 Hi/- to £7 for prime quality; off grade chaff from 2/- lo 3/6 per sack; straw chaff, 1/2 to 1/G per sack; hay, 2/6 per bale: straw, 3. - per bale. General Produce—Barley meal, 81/G per sack: bran, Hl/G; pollard, 14/-; oat dust. I G; mill seeds, 4/G; onions, large arrivals of seasons, G/. tier bag; special quotes for quantities; barley, 20/- per sack. Potatoes.—Local demand lifeless; price 0 . to 7, - per cwt, and supply more than equal to demand. We are ready to do business for forward deliveries for siiipping. Furniture--Our supplies have been largely added to by arrivals of linoleums, rugs, and general furniture. Prices are cheaper than elsewhere. THE RIALTO. ■William Todd and Co. report the following sales on Saturday, February 12;— Pigs—Suckers, G/9 lo 8/- for small; large, 10/- to 12 Hi; weaners, l:L- to 18/-; stores, 20/- to 32,-; porkers, 37/-; sows 31 - lo 3G/-; boar, 11/--Poultry—Hens. 1/- to LG; cockerels, Gd lo 1/-; roosters, 1/3 to 19; pullets, 3/3 to 3/10; ducks, 1/10 to 3/-. Oats—l2/- lo 11/- per bag; damaged oats, G --. Potatoes—£7 to £G per ton. Onions—£G 10/- pier ton. STOCK SALE AT MATAUEA. The National Mortgage and Agency Company, Ltd., report: AVe held our usual monthly stock sale at Mathura on Thursday last in the presence of a very large attendance. The yarding, especially of cattle, was good, and competition for fat stock was exceptionally keen, everything submitted was either sold at auction or privaH-ly. bidding at all parts of the sale being very spirited. The following are some of tiie sales eiTrrled: Hheep—7l lambs 13 Hi, 122 ewes and Jambs lo'2, -IS owes 10/G, 12 lambs 12--, fat lambs 20.-, ;;o rams 10,-'-. Fat CatH.e —Cow:; £l3 17..-, I’ll 17'-, 7 do. £ll 10 -, 2 do. £l2, do. £B, do. £ll .10/-, 2 do. tS, S do. tlo 10 -, 2 do. fll, do. £7. 2 do. £B, 7 steal's and heifers £7, cow £G 12, G, £7 17 HI, I do. £9 17/-, do. £7 7 -, do, £9 12 '-, do. £ll, do. £-S 17/G, do. £G H» -, heifer £ H) It)/-. Cattle—Hl stints and heifers t'G, x steers £3, bull £7 " --, do. t'G 10 do. £8 JO'-, heifer £7 17 'l. 3 steers and heifers £2 G.-. 11 do. £3 17/G, hull £B, -1 steers £ G C -. Also, on account of Mr AA’. A". Dickie, we sold his dairy herd ol same 10 cows, which wm-e in splendid order, and realised good [(rices as follows: —-Cows, £ll, £l2 HI--, CM, £lO, £9 7 I, £8 17 £9 10 £S 10 -. £ 1 I lo '-. £!), fll, £lO 10 ’-, £9. fill. Cl I, £ll. til, £9 1 7 -, £ll 10 -, £9, £9, £ll. £9, £lO I 7 -, n 1 1 7 -, £9 1 0 -, £8 17.-, I"' 10 -, £B, £ll HI -, £8 7 -, £B, £9 HI -, £8 F- ■-: hell ers, £7 7. -, £3 13 £9, £11; milk-cans, IG cool'd', Hi'-. DUNEDIN MARKETS. CRAIN AND HR'H >1 IU'XKIHN, Fi'lirua rv 12. 'rill- oat market is quiet, buyers hanging off in anticipation uf the lower prices

’which .should rule within the next three weeks, when the new crops become more plentiful. The new outs will come on u bare market. Southern agents have been selling forward for April delivery, and onwards, but quotations for this forward business arc now inclined to harden. To-day’s price for old A Garlons is, nominally, 3/9, f.0.b., sacks in. but in the absence of supplies very little business is passing. A fair demand is, however, coming from the northern ports. One merchant states that the oat market at the present time can be summed up thus: Old oats for immediate delivery; new oats for delivery within the next, fortnight or so: and then forward business from April onwards, when the bulk of the southern crop is available. Consignments of chaff are about equal to requirements. Prime oaten sheaf, ff> Ci/-; medium to good, Cl to Cl 5/- (sacks extra). Potatoes are plentiful, and prices are on the decline. Peninsulas, 9 - cwt, Oaniarus, £7 10/- per ton; inferior lots, £7 10/- to £6. TIMARU MAEKETS. CHAIN AND PRODUCK. TIMARU, February 12. A fair volume of business has been recorded during the week on the local market, wheat figuring most largely in the sales. During the earlier part of the week, sales of Tuscan varieties were made at 0/. on trucks, these varieties being the chief ones offering. Dater on a concession had to be made by sellers to the extent of the railage, and up till Wednesday the mafket rate was C/- delivered Timaru for Tuscan varieties, whilst mixed lines containing a proportion of Pearl and Hunter’s, changed hands at 7/1)/. to .I/- 1 /;, according to the proportions, delivered Timaru. Straight lines of Velvet were sold at 7/3, delivered. On Thursday, when the report of the negotiations by the Imperial Government for the purchase of the unsold surplus of the Australian crop came to hand, the market was distinctly firmer, as it was considered in some quarters that this would mean freedom from Australian competition. It would appear by subsequent cables ..that those negotiations did not come to fruition, and the result is seen in the disappearance of the firmer tendency. Quotations to-day are as follows: — Tuscan a/- to C/!)'/•, Velvet C/'J'/j to r>/:l, Hunters 7/. to 5/T'ri, all delivered Timaru. Fowl-wheat is meeting with a fair sale at 1/9 on trucks, country stations. Very few oats are offering, and Hit market is inclined to weakness. New oats from the Gore district are expected to be on the market at the end of this month, and when they are offering freely. it is expected that prices locally will be easier than at present, as most of Urn business is bound to go to Bluff and Dunedin, where by present -appearances stocks will be abundant. One or two lines or barley have been on olfer. Farmers arc asking 7/6 on trucks, but buyers' ideas of values arc fully ;:d tier bushel less than this. A fair quantity of Cape barley bus been purchased by Timaru merchants from the Hawke’s Bay district. It is being brought down to South Canterbury to sell to farmers who want to sow it immediately for green feed. Farlier in the season Cape barley was obtainable at :.’■/(> f.0.b., Gisborne, but the price has now advanced, and quotations to-day arc from I/- to 1/1, f.0.b., s.i., Gisborne. Some Australian Cape barley has arrived here, and the quality is excellent. Potatoes are in keen demand for shipment In Sydney, hut an order here for delivery next week had to ho refused at £8 per ton f.0.b., owing to our crops not being ready yet for lifting. CHRIJSTCHURCH MARKETS, GKAIN AND PIIODUCK. CHIHSTCIH’KCH, February If. Wheat still continues to be offered very freely, although the amount of business that is passing is of comparatively small magnitude. During the last couple of weeks buyers have shown lather less inclination to operate, and whereas a fortnight ago prices up to r. -I! and .7/1 were paid, to-day values are more in the vicinity of 7/-, with extra good Pearl worth probably up to 7/2 on trucks at country stations. At present millers are offering rather better prices than merchants, the latter seeing no immediate prospect of turning over their purchases to advantage-. It is fell that the future of prices in New Zealand hinges to a very large extent, if not entirely, on the disposal of the Common-'.M-alth crop, which is this year of record dimensions. It was reported in the cablegrams a few days ago that a very large proportion had been secured by the imperial Government, and thinking that this would prevent any wheat or (lour from reaching the , lor, union from Australia, holder.'; became more (inn in their demand, hut buyers did not respond, and the effect was lo curtail business. Later messages from the Commonwealth went to simw that the purchase by the Imperial authorities was much smaller than v, as at first reported indeed, so small as to affect the position only to a slight extent. Should the Imperial Government ultimately secure a large parcel of the Commonwealth surplus there can he little doubt that the purchase would directly he reflected on the local market, as with all fears of tin Australian "invasion" put asiiie, .it is probable that millers would at once heroine buyers, as they have not yet. secured anything like sufficient wheat for the requirements during the year. Deports show that the threshing results vary greatly, a few exceeding exportations, hut the majority are helnw estimates. Lillie of the wheat in the immedinte vieinity ot file Southern Alps inis y< t received 1 hj<■ attention of the threshing machines, but when these are reached ii is expected that the returns win be much nm-e satisfactory, that F, if tin' frosts have not cause.l more damage than expected. Tin- oat market is very quiet, and tilth. business has been dime Up to the leesent. fferings of this cereal have' been within narrow compass, and in most eases when parcels have been

submitted growers have shown a quite inflated idea of values, and, with merchants very indifferent about operating, there have been few transactions. AUCKLAND MARKETS. GRAIN AND PRODUCE. AUCKLAND, February 13. The market, as advised at last report, is very firm, the price being now £lO 10/- to £ll per ton. The main crop in this district is now practically finished, and the autumn lot will not be ready until early in March. Merchants have been drawing shipments from Rangitikoi, Wairarapa, and Hawke’s Bay districts. The quality of the imported potatoes is good. It is expected that prices will keep firm until the southern crop is ready for the market. The Sydney market continues very firm, and further shipments of potatoes are to be sent from here by the Katoa. The demand in Sydney is very strong Just now. The Tasmanian potato crop will he ready in March-Aprii, but the yield is not expected to be equal to supplying the demand for New .South Wales and Queensland, where, in both States the crop lias been poor this season. Tito southern market will open firm if the demand from Sydney continues. Until the Whangapo arrived with supplies, the oat stock here had been pretty well cleared out. Shipments by that vessel are being distributed ex wharf to fill orders. The market continues steady at previous rates, but it is expected prices will ease, as lower figures are being quoted in the south for March-Aprii and further forward. i A little demand exists for Algerian seed oats for planting to supply green Iced. There is also enquiry for Cape barley, ryecorn, and vetches for a similar purpose. Stocks of Southern chaff arc practically cleaned up, and very little from the Bluff is now held in store. The next steamer advised is to load on Monday next, which should replenish stocks hero, j Ip the meantime, fair quantities of local chaff arc coming in, which helps to keep the market down somewhat. The present quotation for Blenheim chaff is £7 10 A to £8 per ton, and local chaff is selling at £0 15/- to £7 per ton, ex store. TALLOW. The New Zealand Loan and M.A. Co. have received the following cablegram from their London house, under date 9th instant:— •Tallow. —Wc quote present spot values for the following descriptions: Fine mutton, 50/G per owt; good beef, 49/ C per nvt; mixed, 4 6/- per cwt. The market is dull and there is nothing doing. NEW SOUTH WALES PRODUCE. SYDNEY, February 12. 'The New South Wales production of butter for the year ended Juno 30, 1915, was 8 1,4C1,33G1b5, cheese G13.5921b5, bacon and hams J 3,127,3541b5. Compared with the previous year, butter increased j 4,GS2,GOOIbs, cheese decreased 494,5001b5, I and bacon shows no material change.