COMMERCIAL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume II, Issue 586, 27 December 1915, Page 5

COMMERCIAL.

FROZEN MEAT TRADE

By Cable.—Press Association.—Copyright. LONDON, December 25,

The Frozen Meat Trade Association's weekly quotations for the undermentioned classes of frozen meat arc based on actual sales of not fewer than 100 carcases of mutton or lamb, or 25 carcases of beef, of fair average quality. These quotations are not for selected lines, but for parcels fairly representative of the bulk of the shipments now on the market: —■

LONDON WOOL SALES

LONDON, December 23

Tlic wool sales liave closed. The market was excited, and fullest prices were realised. There was sold for the Home market 80,000 bales, for the Continent 12,000, and for the United States 3000, the quantity held over being 10,000 bales. As compared with November closing rates, good merinos advanced 15 per cent., and medium and faulty 10 to 15 per cent. Greasy crossbreds, though scarce, arid in bad condition, advanced 10 per cent. Scoureds, especially the finer grades, realised sensational px-ices, and "vvcrc 10 to 20 per eent. dearer. t Slipcs showed an all round advance of 10 per cent., crossbred iambs 10 to 15 per cent., and merinos 10 per cent., though generally inferior. There is a possibility of the embargo upon exports, especially crossbreds, being rcimposed owing to tlic need for cloth for the British and Allied armies, and the market having been depleted of crossbreds by recent exports to the United States and the Continent. Relief from South America is not forthcoming, as the Germans control that market, so the embargo may be necessary in order to assure adequate supplies and to check speculation movements by traders desiring to supply Germany after the war.

Tlic Bradford market is firm and unchanged. SHIPOWNERS WARNED. INACCURATE MANIFESTS. The following announcement, which appeared in the "Board of Trade .Tolirnal" in October, lias been published in the "New Zealand Gazette" for the information of shipowners:— "The attention of the Board of Trade has been called to cases in which goods exported from the United Kingdom have been detained by the allied authorities on the ground that the bills of lading covering such goods did not correspond exactly with the manifests of the ships on which they were carried. For instance, a ship was recently detained by the Italian authorities because the ship's manifest did not specify that the goods were in transit for Switzerland, a fact which was clearly shown in the bills of lading. "His Majesty's Government and the Allied ■ Governments attach the utmost importance to the accurate making out in full detail of ships' manifests; and his Majesty's Government have frequently acted with severity where tlic manifests on board foreign ships have been found not to correspond with the bills of lading. In these circumstances shipowners are warned not only that his Majesty's Government would find it difficult to support their claims against foreign Governments in cases where an irregularity of the nature indicated was made the ground of the detention of goods exported from the United Kingdom, but that the shippers would liavc a grave grievance against the shipowners in such cases."

THE LONDON MARKETS.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., has received a cablegram from London giving the following market information:—

Tallow. —We quote present spot values for the following descriptions: Fine mutton, 49/0 per cwt.; good beef, 48/6' per cwt.; mixed, 45/9 per cwt. There is a firm market.

Dec. 18 Dec. 25. Mutton— d. d. Canterbury, liglit 74 7 4 Canterbury) second quality, light 7* 7 A Canterbury, medium 7 i 7i Canterbury, heavy .. 7 7 Southland 72 7jJ North Island, ordinary 7g 73 North Island, best brands 73 n New Zealand ewes .. 61 61 Australian, heavy .. .. 54 r>i Australian, medium .. .. — — Australian, light r.2 Australian, ewes r>A 54 River Plate, light .. .. og 6* River Plate, heavy .. GJ 64 River Plate, ewes .. 5* 5i Lamb— Canterbury, light 7* 11 Canterbury, light, second quality 7 1 Canterbury, medium 7 3 16 7:1 Canterbury, heavy .. 7 J 7 North Island, selected 7i n North Island, ordinary 7 i Southland, selected 7»71 Australian, best brands .. 71 78Australian, fair quality .. 74 74 Australian, inferior 04 6J River Plate, first quality f'l River Plate, second quality 6i G! BeefNew Zealand, fores .. — —" New Zealand, hinds... .. — — Australian, lores — — Australian, hinds ■— — River Plate, chilled fores <51 River Plate, chilled hinds 8 7} Uruguay, frozen fores .. — — Uruguay, frozen hinds .. — — Uruguay, chilled fores — — Uruguay, chilled hinds —