COMMERCIAL.

Southland Times, Issue 18730, 2 February 1920, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

the local markets. limes Offices, Saturday, Jan. 31. GENERAL MERCHANDISE. Rangoon candles show a further advance of Id per lb. New season’s Jordan almonds are now available. Van Heuten’s cocoa is being quoted at 5/4 for lbs and 5/6 for *’s and i’a. Essences show a considerable advance, and the present quote is 5/6, 9/6 and 13/-; according to size. A shipment of 3 in 1 oil, which has just landed, shows an advanced cost of 3/- per dozen. Morton’s powdered magnesia is again available. Melhuish’s Worcester sauce, quarts, has advanced 2/- per dozen, pints 1/-; tomato sauce 1/- dozen, both for quarts and pints.. Melhuiah’s pickles have also advanced 1/per dozen. The local price of. flour shows a ripe of 10/- per ton. ’ Both, paper bags and brown paper have advanced slightly. McLeod’s soaps have advanced £5 per ton. Edmond’s baking and egg powders, large sizes, have advanced 4/- per dozen and the small 2/-. dozen. The retail price of Bell tea is now 3/6 lb. A small shipment of packet and bulk dates arrived per the Tarawera from Sydney, CURRENT PRICES. The following are the current prices announced by the Southland Grocers’ Association for the commodities mentioned:— —Wholesale.—: Eggs, 2/-. Bacon, 1/5 to 1/6. Ham, none procurable. ■ 1/6*. Pollard, £8 10/- per ton. Flour, £ls 10/- to £l7 per ton. Oatmeal, £3l 10/- to £34, Eggs, 2/4. Bacon, 1/9. Ham, none procurable. Butter— Form 1/4, separator 1/6, faotory 1/8. Pollard, 10/6 per 100. Bran, 8/6 per 100. Flour—2s’s 4/9, 50’s. 9/3, 100’s IS/-, 200’s 35/-. • Oatmeal—2s’s 9/-, 50’s 17/6. FISH. The fine weather during the week has been very favourable for the fishing industry and plentiful supplies of all varieties have reached the market and have met with a ready sale. FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. The market has been exceptionally busy during the past week, very heavy consignments of peaches, plums and apricots coming on the market. The shortage of sugar has naturally tended to weaken the sale and prices for all lines have eased. Local apples are now on the market and William Bon Cretien pears are coming forward in ever increasing quantities. Hothouse tomatoes are practically finished, but regular shipments of out-grown arc arriving from the Nelson district. Christchurch and Otago Central grown are due in about a fortnight?s time. A shipment of Fiji bananas is due ex the Mokota about the middle of next week. Following are approximate wholesale prices: —Peaches (cases) l*d to 4d lb, (crated) 2*d to fid; apricots (cases) 2d to 4*d per lb, (crated) 4d to 6icL Heavy supplies are coming to hand and are selling at l*d to 3d per lb; strawberries (dessert) 1/6 to 1/9, (jam) 8d to 1/-; tomatoes (Christchurch hothouse) 1/1 to. 1/4, Nelson grown 7d to lOd; American apples 25/- to 28/- per case, local dessert 12/- to 15/- per case, cookers 6/- to 8/-; pears (Jargonelles) 2d to 3d per lb. Bon Cretien 3d to 4*d; oranges (American eunkjsspd) 50/-; to 55/- double case; American lemons 40/- to 45/- double case. Cherries ore practically finished and are selling at. 1/6 to 2/- per lb. Vegetables. Carrots and parsnips, 1/6 per dozen; lettuces, 1/6 to 1/9 per bunch; cabbages, 2/6 to 3/6 per dozen; cucumbers, 12/- to 16/- per dozen; rhubarb, 3d to 3*d. HARDWARE. The local hardware merchants are experiencing a very busy time and their stocks in many lines are gradually being depleted. The prospect. for future supplies is not bright and owing to the acute shortage of cement, building operations are likely to be considerably hampered within the next two .or three months. During the past week a new schedule, setting forth the order of preference for building material, was issued by the Board of Trade and all big works costing over £2OOO have been placed sixth on on the list. From this it can' be gathered that all big contracts twill be severely handicapped. Corrugated iron increased in price during the week and is now quoted at £67 per ton. The demand is so great that all requirements cannot be filled with the supplies now on hand. There is also a keen demand for barb wire, but there is practically none to be had and no advice has been received of early shipments. Black and galvanised plain wire is selling freely and is quoted at 38/- and 48/- a cwt respectively. A good supply of rabbit-netting is now. available and for this the price being asked is 1/2 per yard. In the course of the next two or three weeks a good supply of rabbit traps should be on hand and intending purchasers will be ab& to fill their requirements at approximately 50/- per dozen. Raw and boiled oil is becoming scarcer and has shown a slight increase in price, the figures now bring quoted at 14/6 to 15/6 a gallon. F. BOWDEN & CO.’S REPORT. Means F. Bowden and Go. report an exceptionally busy week, heavy supplies of stone fruits coming forward. On Thursday we had nearly six hundred cases consigned to our care, whilst Saturday was the busiest day wo ever experienced. Tomatoes ate still short of requirements, prices keeping firm. Outdoor should soon rqake their appearance, when prices riwuld be easier. New Zealand grown pears and apples are now coming forward in fair quantities. We are receiving good supplies of raspberries daily, and any orders coming forward can be executed without delay. Black currants and strawberries have about finished. The week closed with prices ruling:— Tomatoes, locals 1/7, Christchurch hothouse 1/2* to 1/5, Nelson 8d to lOd lb; apples, Canadian 26/- case,' New Zealand grown 3*d lb; pears, Bon Cretien 6/6 case, Otago Central 2d to 3d lb; peaches, crates 3d to 3*d lb, cases 2*d to 3d; apricots, crates 3d to 4Jd lb, cases 2*d to 4d lb; cherries, lOd lb; cherry plums, 3d to 5d lb; black currants (overripe) 4Jd lb, good wanted; plums 2d to 3*d lb for extra good; epeoanuts, 7/case; reaps., 9jJ' to' 10d lb; gooseberries, 2d to 3d lb; American oranges, 54/-. Vegetables.—Local potatoes, 2*d to 3d lb, Christchurch 2d to 2*d lb; lettuce, 1/to 1/3 dozen; cabbage, 5/- to 6/- bag; cucumbers, 10/- to. 12/6 dozen; green peas, 3|d lb; rhubarb, 3*d lb. THE RIALTO. Messrs William Todd and Co., Ltd., report tiie following sales on Saturday, January 31*.— Poultry.-—Good entry; fair demand; 578 entered and sold. Hens, 1/6 to 3/7, better 5/1 to 6/-; roosters, 2/1 to 3/6; cockerels, lOd to 1/3; ducks, 4/- to 4/11; ducklings, 1/5; geese, 5/-. ’ Pigs.—Fair entry; keen demand. Suckers, £1 16/- to £2 12/6; weanenv £2 16/to £3 11/-; stores, £3 15/- to £4 17/6. Cow. —■£7 10/-; heifer, £6; horse, £5. Calves.—s/ -to 13/- for small, better .18/to 31/-. : ‘ ■ Ferrets—lo/- to 19/ J ; better to £L 9/-. Trap and harness, £22; gig, £27 10/-. Prqduce.—Potatoes (new), 3d to 3*d; preen, peas, 4d; rhubarb, 3d to 4d per lb ; onions; 16/- per cwt; oats, 19/- to £1 3/-; bagsin, Chaff, £7 10/- per ton; oat dust, 6/-j tea (in pheste), a/, per H>,

v^‘V.r ‘>.^^3|^P !^ir^* r l ' *?; >;! ’ •** •>* - * l,l r / , _ ';' Messrs MvKay Bros, report as ; follows: — k Poultry—Fdwls,. 1/9 to, 2/6; docks, 6/perpair. i-„ - t' Pitga-T—Prices for young pigs ‘ continue fflfgh j, demand exceeds supply. v ' Bacoii ..Kgs.—We can take any quantity and-are offering high prices. ... •" Produce. —New potatoes, 2d to 2Jd per lb; old potatoes' finished; cabbage, 27dozen ; green - 1-Jd lb; oats, 10/- to 23/6 a sack; wheat unprocurable; barley meal 16/6, pollard 18/6, bran 9/-, oatdust 5/6, sorrel 5/6, onions 16/-. ' ; ' Fruit.—Very heavy supplies-of stone fruit are coming forward and we handled 2000 cases. Hothouse tomatoes falling off in supply, but out, grown tomatoes are coming forward in increasing quantities. Bananas due to arrive this week were in such bad condition that they had to be sold, in Auckland so the market will be bare for some time. American oranges, and lemons are available. Approximate prices for week. - — -Peaches lid per lb to 4-jd, apricots 2d to 7d per lb, cherry phnns 3d, black plums 2d, tomatoes 1/- to 1/6, outside tomatoes 6d to 8d per lb, lemons 42/r, oranges 55/-, pears 5/6 a box, cooking apples 5/-. General.- —McCormack harvester £l9, tip dray £l3, Ford motor £162. We have a splendid single-seater Belgium motor car for sale in first-class order. Exchange tea, 14/6 per 51b box; supplies limited. Furniture.—Prices continue to rise, but we- are showing good *lines at old prices. Attention is also drawn to the sale pi firstclass oak furniture on Tuesday, February 2. See advertising .columns. CLEARING .SALE AT GUMMIES BUSH.i The National Mortgage and Agency C 0,,, Ltd., report, having held a successful clear-j ing sale -at Gummies Bush on Wednesday, i January 28, on account of Mr D. Mcßeath. j The weathdr was ideal and there was a good; attendance of dryers. TBe stock and imple-i ments were presented in splendid order, and the manner in which the sale was arranged; not only helped the. auctioneers to dispose’ of the lots in record time, but was of con--siderable advantage to the buyers. The.fol-. lowing axe the principal sales x —349 ewes and lambs at 20/8, 249 ditto at 21/-, 74 ditto’at 30/3, 127 ditto at 22/1, 197 ditto at 17/6, 150 two-tooth ewes at 25/3, 120 two-tooth wethers at 26/1,. 135 ewes at 30/2, 110 wethers at 35/1, rams at £4 4/and £3 3/-, 12 bullocks at £lO 2/6, 15 j steers at £7 6/-, 19 steers at £6 4/-, dairy cows £ls. £l3 5/-, £ll, £7, 3 heifers at £6 .15/-, 4 heifers at £7 3/-, 1 steer at £s,' horses—draught filly £SO, mares £39, £3O, gelding £3O, £24, £2O, £l4, £l3, aged geldings £B, £3. Implements—Dray £lO, gig £24 10/-, roller £l6, drill £2O, disc £l6, disc j plough £l4, d.f. plough £l2 10/-, swamp! plough £24, stack oaten sheaves £25, sundries and harness, etc, brought full market rates. • CLEARING SALE AT BROWNS. The National Mortgage and Agency Co.. Ltd, report having held a very successful sale at Browns on Friday last on account .of Mr Herbert Brown. The weather was perfect an,d there was a good attendance of buyers. The following are the principal sales:—27o ewes and lambs at 18/-, 108 dry ewes at 26/-, 195 two-tooth ewes at 23/-, 270 wethers at 24/-, 61 wethers at 36/-, 7 empty cows at £9 19/-, 5 heifers at £7 10/-, cow and calf at £lO, dairy cows at £l2 5/-, £ll, £9 10/-; horses—2 mares at £37, £36 10/-, gelding £l9 10/-, waggon £3l, swamp plough £2B, drill £2O 10/-, disc plough £B, windmill £l2 10/-. Pig, £4 5/-. Sundries, etc, at full, market rates. DUNEDIN MARKET. DUNEDIN, January 31.* Small parcels of wheat are finding their j way to the local market. Millers are readily accepting these at full rates. Fowl wheat is in short supply/pmd is selling at high, prices.. Milling Wheat.—According to Government prices:- South Island, 6/9, f.o.b, sacks extra (plus 14d brokerage and Government commission) ; North Island, approximately equivalent to 7/01 (pips lid brokerage, and. Government commiMoH) I .*, '■ Prices of millers’ lines are as follow:—--Flour, £ls to £l6; bran, £6 10/-; pollard, £8 10/-; pearl barley, £2B; oatmeal, £3O. Quotations for flour are somewhat irregular. It is safe to say, however, that less than £l6 would not be accepted for any quantity. Odd lines of last season’s oats are offering from growers, whose idea of values in most cases is above what merchants are prepared to give. Very little business is therefore being transacted in the country, and on* the other hand the shipping market is also lifeless, ttvere being practically no inquiries from North Island buyers. The prices on f.o.b.s.i. oats are 5/6 for A and 5/5 for B grade, and 4/9 and 4/8 per bushel, sacks extra, are the respective prices offered for A and B Cartons on trucks, country sidings. For forward oats there has been a tendency on the part of Canterbury sellers to take lower rates. Merchants who were operating have purchased their requirements, and in the meantime there have been go further buyers in the market. Steady supplies of chaff have been coming forward for the past fortnight, and as the market is purely local feeders have become freely stocked, with the result that the demand is now* very limited and prices easier. Good quality is selling to-day at £7 10/per ton, sacks extra, ex truck, while poor and medium is difficult to sell at even reduced rates. LONDON MARKETS. (By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association). •■■■ LONDON, January 29. A two days’ sale of Australian and New Zealand wool opened in Liverpool. Best qualities realised full recent London rates, but lower quality sorts were irregular. Wheat —Prices are firm, but the market is inactive. Flour is quiet. Oats —Firm with prices advancing. La Platas on spot, 61/3. Beans and Peas —Quiet and prices are unchanged. Sugar—Unchanged. LONDON, January 30. The Bradford tops market was quiet with a good tone. Forty-sixes of quality were quoted at 44d, fifties 72d, fifty-sixes 98d, sixty-fours 150 d. FOREIGN EXCHANGE. LONDON, January 29. Ike foreign exchange market is fluctuating greatly. The approximate rates, as compared with last quotations, are as follow:

fr. Par. Jan. 26. Jan. 20. Paris 25.22J44.50 46.40 Stockholm kr. 18.16 17.87 17.92 Christiania kr. 18.16 19.0 19.70 Calcutta rpe. 16d 28d . 27|d Montreal dol. 4.86 4.00 3J8 New York dol. 4.86 3.62* 3.53* Berlin mk. 20.43 360 275 The German mark recovered on Amw;». n buying.