COMMERCIAL

Southland Times, Issue 18965, 13 June 1923, Page 2

COMMERCIAL

WALLACETOWN SALE. FAT STOCK HARDENING. The fortnightly sale was held in the Wallacetown yards yesterday, and the fat stock sale hardened considerably. FAT CATTLE.—Compared with the prices ruling some time ago, the market showed an advance of from 30/- to £2 per head. The market opened quietly, but after the first few pens had been sold the market hardened, and competition was keen. Any well-finished stock brought spirited competition, and the top price was £l3 15/-, secured by Mr David Marshall, Waianiwa, and sold by the National Mortgage to Mr J. Hanau. Extra prime ox beef realised about 30/- per hundred, while ordinary prime beef ranged from 22/6 to 27/-. There was a better demand for heifers, and prices realised for these were considerably in advance of those ruling recently. Prime heifer beef sold about 22/6 per hundred. Contrary to recent sales, there was a demand for good cow beef, which brought satisfactory prices. Extra prime bullocks ranged from £lO to £l3 15/-, primes ranging from £8 10/- to £9 15/-, medium weights brought from £7 17/6 to £8 7/6, while light and unfinished stock sold down to £6 7/6. Prime heifers realised from £5 17/6 to £7, others being as low as £3. Prime heavyweight cows sold at from £7 12/6 to £9, light and unfinished ranging from £3 12/6 to £5 7/6. A few well-finished vealers were yarded, but the demand was not keen. Prime runners £2 5/- to £2 17/6, others 25/- to 35/-. STORE CATTLE.—The entry was a small one, but the market showed an imzroved tone. Good cows went from £5 to £9 faring calvers £2 10/- to £4, while two-year-olds sold at about 30/-. FAT SHEEP.—The improvement in the fat cattle sale was continued in the sheep pens, where a good rise in all classes was evident. The sale opened on fat lambs, and the price per lb realised for freezing weights would be about 9d. Fat wethers hardened, and anything well-finished was keenly competed for, the advance in this section being about 2/6 per head. In the fat ewe market another increase was recorded this time about 1/6 per head. Prices realised at auction were as follow: Prime lambs, 33/-; medium lambs, 21/3 to 26/3; prime wethers, 30/10 to 37/6; medium wethers, 27/3 to 29/-; prime ewes, 21/6 to 26/2; medium-weights, 16/- to 19/10. STORE SHEEP.—The yarding was small and many vendors were unable to satisfy their demands, the sale being firm throughout. A line of lambs sold at 20/6, and mixed-sex hoggets at 22/-. A line of 2tooth wethers sold at 27/1 and full and fail-ing-mouth ewes at 16/4 and 16/6. The following was the yarding at the last two sales:—

GRAIN AND PRODUCE. Messrs Donald Reid & Co., Ltd. (Dunedin), report as under— Oats.—The market is steady, and there is a good demand for Gartons suitable for milling. We quote: A Gartons, 3/- to 3/1; B Gartons, 2/10. Wheat.—There is a good demand for fowl wheat at 4/1, and millers are keen buyers of all lines in milling condition. Potatoes.—The market is firm, and prime lines are realising £lO 10/- to £IL Chaff.—The market for forward delivery is a little easier/ but any lines of prime chaff on the spot are meeting -with a good demand at £5 5/- to £5 10/- per ton; good to best feed, £4 10/- to £5; medium, light and discoloured, £3 to £4; sacks extra. CHEESE AND BUTTER. WELLINGTON, June 12. The National Dairy Association has received the following cable from their London Office, dated June 8: The butter market is firm; New Zealand salted 156/- to 158/-; New Zealand unsalted, same price; Australian salted, 148/to 152/-; Argentine, 116/- to 140/-; Irish, 160/- to 152/-; Danish, 156/- to 158/-. The cheese market is quiet. New Zealand, 88/- to 92/-; Canadian, 86/- to 90/-. GRAIN AND PRODUCE. Messrs Dalgety <fc Co., Ltd. (Dunedin), report as follows as on June 11: Oats.—Prices are unchanged, and we quote: A Gartons, 3/- to 3/1; B Gartons, 2/10; undergrade from 2/- per bushel; sacks extra. Wheat.—All good lines are being readily taken by millers at agreement prices. Fowlwheat is realising up to 4/1 per bushel, sacks extra. Potatoes.—This market has firmed, and best tables are realising £lO 10/- to £ll per ton. Chaff.—The inquiry for prime oatensheaf chaff continues. Other descriptions are slower of sale. We quote: Prime oatensheaf to £5 10/-; good to best feed, £4 10/- to £5; inferior from £2 15/- per ton; sacks extra.

BUTTER AND CHEESE. THE BRITISH MARKET. Mr R. Ellison, representing the National Dairy Association of New Zealand, writing from London on April 19, says Again the butter market has had a severe setback. Two weeks ago the price of New Zealand i butter was 184/- to 186/-. To-day it is I 166/- to 164/-. This decline is acute ! enough, but even at 160/- it would be impossible to sell even small quantities ofi butter. The moment the market reaches top and commences to recede, not a buyer can be found for butter, and only those who are working on day to day stocks are compelled to buy sufficient to go on with. Danish, which has been until yesterday quoted at 183/- to 185/-, f.0.b., Copenhagen, has been to-day reduced to 168/-. The lower the price goes the less chance of getting the trade to come on again. It would now appear that all those who prophesied irgh prices in the snrF’g of 'year, ha\e been hopelessly wrong. The j almost unanimous opinion a k.u mu... j i bank was that we would see high prices : during May and June. Quite the reverse i looks like being the case. I At the present moment large stocks of | butter are held in cold store. In fact, | current arrivals are bound to be so treated j as the butter cannot be sold until the dej mand again springs up. It is doubtful if J butter was offered at 150/- just at the moment whether buyers or speculators could be found to take any quantity. At the same time there is nothing to be gained by endeavouring to force sales. No doubt more butter could have been - disposed of at higher prices, that is sales ‘ could have been made at 174/- when the | market was at 180/-, but agents naturally | hold out. a’ long as possible against the ; breaking of the market price, and as so j often happens, those who broke away first | and took the lower prices, will appear to l have made much better returns than those 1 who tried to hold the market. It is possible that a false position has been created due to the belief that sales during recent weeks were going into consumption. It now looks as if much of the butter was bought and held against anticipated shortage. In our opinion the retail price of butter has been at a figure beyond which the general public were prepared to continue using it in sufficient quantities to absorb the arrivals from all countries. New Zealand butter has again been forced out of i the North of England. As soon as the i price approximates that of Danish, the New > Zealand article is neglected. There has i been a tendency to force prices too much. This new element has, in our opinion, been the prime factor in bringing about these heavy falls in values. It is a mistaken policy to force the price up 5/- or 10/and thereby bring about a break of 20/i or 30/-.

It is expected that the retail price will be reduced from 2/2 possibly to 1/8, or even 1/6 per lb. Should this happen, there will be a big increase in the consumption, and prices may again begin to rise. Cheese has been on a high level for some time. Stocks have been as low as they are ever likely to be at this time of the year. The upward movement of the retail price has gradually cut off the retailers’ profit and forced the public off eating sufficient cheese to maintain recent values. The retail price of 1/4 to 1/8 has brought about a shrinkage in the demand. Moreover the market has been kept in a state of uncertainty due to purchasers of c.i.f. cheese getting alarmed and forcing sales. Many holders of c.i.f. cheese are offering to sell forward for the remainder of the year at continually reduced prices, and this naturally has a demoralising effect on a nervous market. Ten days ago New Zealand cheese was 136/-.- There are Sellers to-day at 106/-. The importers are having a bad and anxious time.

CANTERBURY MARKETS. (Per United Press Association). CHRISTCHURCH, June 12. The potato market continues to firm. Current quotations to farmers are £8 for whites, and from £7 10/- upwards for Dakotas. A little business has been done at these figures, but farmers generally are showing little disposition to sell f.0.b., s.i. Sales have been made for Auckland at up to £9 10/- for prompt delivery. The quality of the potatoes coming to hand is showing improvement, but this may be accounted for to some extent by farmers in the flooded areas allowing tubers to remain in the ground, which naturally reduces the proportion of damaged ones coming on the market. In dry areas, however, digging is proceeding apace, and a week or so of good weather- should see very few left undug. The Whangape left during the week-end, and the Kekerangi for Auckland sailed last night with 5800 sacks. The Wingatui sails this week, but her space is small. There is little change to report in other branches. Oats are dull and chaff is a shade easier, being now quoted at £5 at country stations. Peas are maintaining their high price and farmers are offering more freely. Up to 8/44, f.0.b., s?i., has been paid. Perennial ryegrass is very firm, but there is very little about. The activity is due to export demand. Up to 7/6 f.0.b., sacks extra, has been paid for 271 b to 281 b seed. Italian is also in slightly lees demand, only being worth from 7/- to 7/3, f.o.b. It is also scarce.

STOCK EXCHANGES. DUNEDIN, June 12. Sales on’Change: Kaiapoi Woollen (pref.), 21/9; New Zealand Insurance, 29/3. Sales reported: Crown Brewery, 54/-; Bank of New Zealand, 62/-; New Zealand Insurance, 29/6.

May 15. June 19. Fat cattle .. 215 137 Store cattle .. , .. 144 49 Fat sheep.. ., . .. 1051 703 Store sheep .. .. 635 250