COMMERCIAL

Southland Times, Issue 17965, 5 March 1917, Page 4

COMMERCIAL

EXCHANGE SAXE ROOMS. Messrs McKay Bros. submit their Weekly report, as follows: — Poultry—Hens, old, 9d to 1/2; better, to 1/7; roosters, 1/1 to 1/11; ducks, 2/3 to 2/10. Pigs—Suckers, 11/- to 15/-; weaners, 16/- to 24/-. Produce.—Potatoes, £8 per ton; onions, Canterbury, 9/- per cwt; oats. 15/6; seconds, 11/-; wheat, prime fowl, 23/- per bag; oaldust, 4/6; bran, 5/6 to 6/6; pollard, 13/-; chaff, sharp rise during the week, ex store, £4 15/- to £5. Fruit. —The week has proved to be the biggest on record for supplies. In fine day we had 1000 cases. Tomatoes are exceptionally good and in very heavy supply, but the season will not evidently last long. Customers should note this. Pears are very early this season and in heavy supply; also later on these will be very scarce. Cooking apples are plentiful. Dessert are only in fair supply. Peaches are nearly finished, and good dessert plums are now unprocurable. Tomatoes, IVid to 2%d; hothouse, 3V4d to 4L>d; peaches, l%d to 3d; plums. Id to 3'/id; apples, 1/6 to 4/6 for cookers; $/- to 10/- for dessert; pears. 3/6 to 4/- case; special sorts, 7/6 case; cucumbers, 2/- box; oranges, 16/- case; lemons, 20/- half case; bananas, to arrive, 17/6 green and 22/6 ripe.

Furniture. —Sales of furniture continue to be satisfactory, and we solicit enquiries from those desirous of holding outside sales. Our facilities are of the best. BRAT BROS. Messrs Bray Bros., Ltd., report as follows for week ending 3/3/17: — Produce —Potatoes, prime quality, freshly dug. 7/- to S/- cwt; chart, discoloured. 1/6 to 1/9 bag; good, £4 15/witii upward tendency for prime quality; nominally, £5; oats, discoloured, 10/-; good, 12/- to 13/-; oat dust, 4/6 sack; wheat, 21/- to 24/-, good quality: pollard, 13/6 bag; bran, 1601b bags, 8/6; linseed cake meal and nuts, 16/- per 1001b bag. Meat —-3d to 4d lb. Vegetables—Demand better. Cabbage, 1/6 to 3/6: caulillower, 3/- to 4/- bag; cucumbers, 1 '6 to 2/- box. Fruit —-Supply exceeds the demand. Peaches, IVzd to 2 '£< l. according to quality; plums. Id to 2d; nectarines, IVid to 2! 2 d; tomatoes, Id to 2'v t d; dessert pears 2/6 to 6/- case; local cooking apples, 1/6 to 3/6 case. Poultry—Demand not so keen. VVe will bavc a good entry Saturday, 10th inst. Pigs.—Stores are in demand. Furniture. —Several big lines of household goods were disposed of during the week. We notice a keeai demand for our dining-room suites in new pattern moquettes. A thoroughly efficient mail order department has resulted in a large country clientele.

We also report sale of property at Thornbury Estate of Mrs Learmont (deceased), together with household furniture at satisfactory prices. TEE 91&Z.T0. Messrs William Todd and Co., Ltd., report the following sales on Saturday, March 3rd: — Poultry—Hens, 1/3 to 2/-: ducks, 2/to 2/S; roosters, 1/0 to 2,/-; purebreds, to 5/-; pullets, 2/3 to 6/-; geese, 3/-. Pigs—Suckers, 11/6 for small to £1; weaners, £1 0/6 to £1 1/-; stores, £1 D/to £1 13/-. Miscellaneous. —Calves, 10/6 to 13/6; collie dog. £1 11/-; rustic cart, £8: spring cart, £5; oats, 9/- to 14/3; oat dust, 4/6; potatoes, £8 10/- to £7 per ton.

RZVERSDAXE STOCK SAXE. The Riversdale stock sale was held on Saturday in mixed weather. There was a good attendance of farmers and buyers, and the yarding consisted of some 3000 sheep. Owing to farmers clearing stubble and feed being more plentiful owing to the recent rain, there was a keen demand for lambs, wethers and ewes. -The price for lambs showed an increase on the Gore market of fully 1/- per head, and wethers also showed an improvement. The following sales were made: — AS'right, Stephenson and Co., Ltd.: — 18S ewes 16/1, 61 do. 16/6, 155 do. 18/6, 61 do. IS/-, 12 lambs 23/6, 28 small lambs 18/-. New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd.: 260 two-tooth wethers 26/11, 100 two-tooth ewes 30/3, 81 fat wethers 32/7, 71 two-tooth ewes 31/6, 61 ewe lambs 10/7, 20 wethers 20/1, 10 ewes 17/9, three lambs 21/-. National Mortgage and Agency Co., Ltd.: —335 lambs 23/1. 52 two-tooth ewes and wethers 23/6, 87 lambs 23/5, 8 do. (small) 13/1, 16 ewes 21/6, 150 four, six and eight-tooth ewes 30/-. Southland Farmers’ Co-operative Association, Ltd.:—92 wethers 27/7. J. IC. Winsloe and Co.: —55 ewes 24/-, 30 do. 21/6, 150 two-tooth wethers 28/9, 43 m.s. lambs 23/2, 25 ewes 15/2, 37 six and eight-tooth ewes 27/-. Dalgety and Co., Ltd., offered 850 lambs, which were passed in at 19/7. DUNEDIN MARKETS. DUNEDIN, March 3. The oat market continues firm, although there seems to be less desire on the part of shippers to buy. It looks as though buyers had obtained all they reejuired in the meantime. At anyrate oats cannot now be sold f.o.b. at anything like the values ruling last week. Small lines of A Gartens were sold last week at 3/7 and 3/8, f.0.b,, s.i., for shipment to the north, one line of 2000 sacks being sold at the Taieri at 3/G net to the farmer. Latest sales are on a basis of 3/3 on trucks, Taieri, and also Heriot. It cannot be denied, however, that the local oat market to-day is a more or Itss speculative one, consequent on over sellers having had to fulfil their obligations, no matter at what price. There is not what may be termed general business of any moment, nor can any prices be named as the ruling market quotations. Old chaff is a little firmer in price. Requirements arc about equal to the supply. Prime oaten sheaf, £1 10/- to £5; medium to good, £3 to £3 15/- (sacks extra). Potatoes are slow of sale, supplies being more than equal to the demand. The main crop from Uamaru and the Taieri is, however, not yet fully ripe. Oamaru-grown, from £6 to £6 10/-.-

TXUARTJ MARKETS.

TIMARU, March 3. Oats. —The market has further advanced, and offers have been made of 3/6 on trucks at country stations, whilst lighter qualities have sold as low as 3/per bushel. Invercargill brokers indicate that the crop in Southland has suffered severely from the recent wet weather, and that the greater quantity of oats available from there will be very badly weathered and sprouted. The quantity offering here is small, and farmers will be buyers of considerable quantities later. Potatoes. —Reports from the North Island indicate that forward sellers in the South island, are pushing to make sales at a reduction on late quotations. This will be in view of the favourable outlook of the growing crops at present in Canterbury. CHRISTCHURCH MARKETS. CHRISTCHURCH, March 3. Oats are firmer, and prices are inclined to improve for prompt delivery, due to a number of merchants having sold large quantities forward for delivery early. Reports from Southland are to the effect that much of the crop will be dark in colour, owing to the rainy, weather during harvest. A leading merchant, speaking about the present shortage of oats, attributes it to the fact that the grower likes a gamble, and as meat and wheat are selling at fixed rates, oats are the only remaining crop in which he can hold on for speculative reasons. Shortage of threshing plants is generally advanced as the reason for the oats being held back. New oats —Heavy Algerians 3/- to 3/2, Cartons 3/2 to 3/3, Duns 3/-. There is no activity in regard to chaff. New oatsheaf chaff, £3 o,- to £3 10/for immediate, and £3 for forward delivery.