COMMERCIAL

Southland Times, Issue 18974, 22 June 1923, Page 2

COMMERCIAL

FINANCE AND TRADE

THE LOCAL MARKETS. Times Office, Thursday, June 21. STOCK MARKET. There has lately been some activity in the market for fat stock. There has been a good demand for fat cattle from the north and, as the supply has fallen off considerably, the improved prices ruling at the last auction sale are being well maintained. Prime heavyweight bullocks are worth £lO to £l3, medium weights £7/10/to £lO and light £6 to £7/10/-. So far there have been few transactions in store cattle, but the market for this class of steck is likely to look, up before long. Fat sheep are in much the same position as fat- cattle, and are good property' at the present time. Prime wethers, heavy, are worth 33/- to 28/-, medium 30/- to 32/6 with light 25/- to 29/-. Fat ewes are selling correspondingly well, prices ranging from 16/- to 26/-. Prime lamb is worth 9|d, with seconds and overweights §d less. The season is all but over and lambs being killed are mostly light. Freezing works have notified that they will be closing at the end of the month. There is a healthy demand for store shefcp, particularly for hoggets. Prices range from 15/- to 20/- for wethers and mixed sexes, while good ewe hoggets are worth up to 24/-. GRAIN AND PRODUCE. Oats.—There has been no alteration in price to farmers during the week, but the shipping market seems rather easier, due to the absence of any demand from Australia. Stocks are very light and very little is offering from farmers. The offerings this year have not been large, and it seems as though a considerably smaller area has been in oats this season, when compared with past years. It is probable in face of the present shipping position that merchants will have to lower their prices. At present A grade Gartons and Spatrowbills are worth 2/6 0.t., B grade 2/6; f.a.q. 2/4; while good j Duns are worth about 2/6. i Wheat.—A few sales have taken place in milling wheat, but delivery has been delayed until August or September as millers have not sufficient storage space. Fowl wheat is in fair demand and good whole quality is worth 4/- o.t. Chaff.—The market is well supplied and merchants are not keen buyers for anything except prime. Little shipping has been done, due no doubt, to tne purchase, by North Island merchants, of compressed chaff from Australia. It is reported that this chaff is not turning out satisfactory so that probably North Island merchants will confine themselves to N.Z. chaff in future. Prime chaff is quoted at £3/15/- 0.t., but inferior is not in demand. Ryegrass. —The market continues firm and it is doubtful if there will be sufficient seed for N.Z. requirements. No seed is now offering from farmers and it would appear that all stocks have passed into merchants’ hands. Prices to farmers for heavy clean lines are about 5/4 to 5/6, lighter seed proportionately less. Potatoes. —Very short supply, and all potatoes are now too dear to allow merchants here much margin at present prices. Very few Southland grown lines are available and £lO is quoted for these lines. FRUIT AND VEGETABLES. Business has been fairly brisk in the fruit market during the week owing to the arrival of the Moeraki with a consignment of overseas fruit. Lemons and oranges met with a particularly keen demand, and were sold out on arrival. A further shipment is expected to arrive about the 29th instant. melons and pineapples are expected to arrive by the next trip of the Waikouaiti.

The m-arket is still fully supplied with apples of all classes. The demand is only normal, while second grade or inferior sorts are very difficult to quit. Pears of a good quality are meeting with a keen demand. Lines affected with black spot and arriving over ripe are not wanted. The market is bare of bananas and further supplies will net arrive before the next mail boat from the Islands. Good cauliflowers are required. Some nice specimens of violets frem Christchurch have arrived and met with a keen demand.

Current prices are as follows: * Apples.—Delicious 9/- to 12/- per case; Jonathans 6/- to 9/-; scarlets 6/- to 8/-; Clcopatras 6/6 to 8/6. Cookers to 2Ad. P^ars. —Best desserts 2»}d to 3Ad per lb; cooking varieties to 24d. Bananas, 25/- per case. Oranges.—Adelaide, 28/- per case; Navel, 30/-. Mandarins, passion fruit and pines, to arrive. Lemons. —30/- per case. Violets.-—6d to 8d per bunch. Vegetables.—-Marrows, Id per lb; cabbages, to 3/- per dozen; carrots, Id per lb; parsnips to l*d per lb. CURRENT PRICES. The following are current prices quoted by a retailer:— —Wholesale.— Eggs, 1/6. Bacon, 1/-. Pollard, £8 per ton. Butter, factory 1/7; farm, 1/2; separator, 1/3. Bran, £6 per ton. Flour, £l6. Oatmeal, £2l 10/- to £25. —Retail.Eggs, 1/10. Bacon, 1/3. Butter, factory 1/10; farm, 1/3; separator, 1/6. Cheese, 1/2; matured, 1/4. Pollard, 10/6 per 100. Flour—2s’B, 5/3; 50s, 10/6; 100’s, 20/-; 200’s, 38/-. Oatmeal—solb, 13/3; 251 b, 6/9 ; 51b, 1/7; 11b, 4d. Potatoes, Gibs 1/-; 15/6 per cwt. GLOCERIES. Sugar,—The s.s. Wanaka is now due at Bluff about Saturday next. Advice has been received that as a full month's allotment came forward on the s.s. Kotoa the sugar company were only able to get. away a small parcel by the Wanaka. Tea.—Advice just to hand reads as follows: —“The Indian market has opened and teas generally are firm, there being an undoubted world shortage.” Groote’s Dutch Girl Cocoa is now quoted at 3/3 per lb. Rebates will be made to retailers on stocks held, provided claims are made by the 25th inst. Salt (coarse) is short at present. Cheese.—The market is firm and prices locally are likely to harden up. Sago and Tapioca.—The f.o.b. market is easier, but as local stocks are very short, prices will probably remain firm for some little time. HARDWARE. Business during the past week has been steady, but no alterations in prices have taken place. There has been a better demand for fencing materials. The demands of the building trade still continue to be fairly good. No advices have been received of any material alterations in prices in either the English or American markets, which suggests that local prices will remain on much the same level as at present. Supplies of all descriptions of goods have been ample and there is no tendency on the part of merchants to run the risk attendant upon having a surplus of stocks. Prices are approximately as follow:—Cement 7/10 per bag; corrugated iron £37 10/- per ton; rabbit netting 7d yard; sheep netting 7d and 7id yard; staples 5d and 6d lb; Eng-

lish galvanised wire, £26 10/- per ton; black £25 per ton and barb £34 per ton. American wires are quoted slightly cheaper. Oil has lately shew’n an increase and is now quoted at 7/6 and 7/9 per gallon. RABBITSKIN SALE. The Dunedin Woolbrokers' Association (the Otago Farmers’ Co-operative Assdeiation, D. Reid and Co., N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Stronach Morris, and Co., Wright, Stephenson and Co., National Mortgage and Agency Co., Todd Bros., Dalgety and Co.) report as follows: At the sale on Tuesday large catalogues were placed before buyers, and the prices realised for better-grade skins Were con- ; siderably in advance of those realised at ' last sale. Super winter bucks advanced 4M • per lb. for prime quality, and super winter i does 7d per lb. for superior sWins. The following is the range of prices: Runners and ! suckers, 15d to 21|d; light racks, 26Jd to ] 28jd; summers, 26.} to 28d; prime racks, j 30d to 324 d; early autumns, 35|d to 43d; I late autumns, 34i}d to 514 d; incoming win- • ter, 40d to 58i; early winter, 6Hd to 65id; j first winter bucks, 60d to 80{d; first winter j does, 74M to 88Jd; super winter bucks, | 75d to 86d; super winter does 88|d to spotted winters, 321 d to 54Ad first winter blacks, 7(Hd to 88d; second winter blacks, 55d to 59|d; winter fawns, 60d to 63}d. Horsehair, 22|d to 26jd. Hareskins, 17|d to 29Ad. STOCK EXCHANGE. YESTERDAY’S QUOTATIONS. National Bank of N.Z., b., £6 18/-. Bank of N.Z., b., 61/6; a., 62/6. New Zealand Coal and Oil, b., 2/9; s., 3/-. N.Z. Insurance, b., 29/7. Standard Insurance, b., 38/6. Southland Frozen Meat (£1), b., 29/6. Southland Frozen Meat (10/- paid), b., 14/9. Southland Frozen Meat (£1 pref.), b., 29/6. U.S.S. Company (£1 pref.), b., 20/6. Kaiapoi Wollen, s., 37/6. Mosgicl Woollen, b., £7 7/-. Milburn Lime and Cement, s., 36/6. New Zealand Drug, b., 65/-. N.Z. Milk Products, b., 24/6; s. 26/-. N.Z. Paper Mills, s., 24/9. Otago Daily Times, b., 55/-. Inscribed Stock, 1938, b., £97 10. War Bonds, 1938, b.. £97 10/-. Inscribed Stock, 1939, b., £97 10/-. War Bonds, 1939, b., £97 10/-. Soldier Settlement Loan Bonds, 1933, b., £102; s., £lO2 5/-. Soldier Settlement Loan Inscribed Stock, b., £lO2. (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, June 21. Sales—Goldsbrough Mort 49/-; Auckland Gas 26/9; Kaiapoi Woollen (10/- paid) 11/9; Moanataiari 2/10; New Waitahi 9Ad; Waihi, 25/-; Grand Junction 6/9. WELLINGTON, June 21. Reported sale on ’Change—lnscribed Stock, 1939, £97. CHRISTCHURCH, June 21. Sales reported:—Ward’s Brewery £2 5/-; National Bank £7 (two parcels) ; New Zealand Sugar of Milk 32/6; Gpldsborough Mort (cum. div.) 49/-; Union Bapk £l5 2/6. Sales on .’Change*—National Bank £7; P. and O. (def.) £330; Ward’s Brewery, 45/3, 45/-, 44/9, 44/6. SOUTH AFRICAN MAIZE. (By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Press Association.) BRISBANE, June 21. The Minister of Customs has announced that it has been decided to impose a dumping duty on South African maize, as its importation is proving detrimental to the Australian trade. BUTTER PRODUCTION IN N.S.W. SYDNEY, June 21. At the Dairy Factories’ Conference, it was stated that owing tc the adverse season, the New South Wales butter production for the season ending thirteenth June next would be sixty-eight million pounds, compared with ninety-five million for the previous season. A note of warning had \ been sounded regarding Argentine competiI tion, and within the next few years AusI tralia would have a most strenuous time i holding the overseas markets. Only by increased production and improving quality could she maintain her present position. PRICE Or TEA ADVANCES. CALCUTTA, June 20. At the Calcutta tea sales lhe quality of offerings showed an improvement and bidding was brisker. Prices ranged from thirteen annas to fifteen annas three pice, ! showing °.dvanccs of frem one to three pice LONDON MARKETS. LONDON, June 20. (Received June 21, 8.45 p.m.) At the tallcw sales 2433 casks were offered and 1201 sold, at an average advance of fid. Fine mutton realised 42/- per cwt., medium 38/6, fine beef 43/-, medium 37/6. Wheat, Cargoes arc quiet at 3d to 6d lower, whilst parcels are steady and prices unchanged. BERLIN EXCHANGE RATE. LONDON, June 20. (Received June 21, 8.45 p.m.) The Berlin exchange rate is 550,000 | marks to the £l. i