COMMERCIAL NEWS.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18031, 20 January 1923, Page 7

COMMERCIAL NEWS.

OTHER EXCHANGES. By Telegraph—Press Association. Sales.—War Loan, 1927, £97; Harbour Board Debentures, 6 per cent., £lO5. Banks. —National, £6 7s 6d; New Zealand, 57s 3d. Hikurangi coal 14s; Auckland gas'2ss, Howard Smith, 50s 6d; Moanataiari 3s 9d, .3s lOd, 3s lid, 4s (Three parcels). HOME MARKETS'. BUTTER, ANI) CHEESE. By Cable—Press Association—Copyright. LONDON, January IS. Butter fii-m with a good consumptive demand.. New Zealand choicest, 1965; exceptionally choice, 198 s; unsalted, 198 s to 200 s. Australian choicest, 190 s to 1925; unsalted 194 s to 1965. Cheese is easier. Now Zealand coloured 1265; white 128 s. The retail price is lod per pound, checking the demand. The following cable has been received by Dalgetv and Co., from their London Office, dated January 17: — Butter. —'Since our last wire prices are higher by 2s (now 1945). Cheese. Since our last wire pricesi are lower by 4s to 6s. (now 128 s), Under date January 18:—Frozen, Meat-Moderate demand for New Zealand lamb, and market firm. Prime crossbred mutton. North Island, heavy 9d, light, 9Ad. Demand continues; market _ firm owing to light stocks. Ox oeef, Innas 4|d, fores' 4id. Demand continues; market firmer Good average quality Australian amb, heavy 10d, light lid. Demand urns principally on finest quhh'tics trV lVera £? ( ?. ualit i' r Australian mutt°r ’ • avy 'hght 7) d. Demand betIn!htte r '7 Sfeea 1 y ;a T ti ’ present prices. gfStfs for the Hast month total if nrm,u and for the" coirespmulL \ tk AU - year 303,000 cwt. We quote Australmn finest 192 - New Zealand J9bs; Danish ‘R9 S a SVw ' z “'“ d I**,

GRAIN AND PRODUCE. SOUTH CANTERBURY MARKETS.

wl 1 antici P a tions for an early harvest W been completely dispelled by the lain, as a result of which rm™ ...._ down in all directions. There will*ho quantity of discoloured wheat tins season, an* some of the crops are Jv be l w d ?J ,ln eed that they will smarceseen Of !l ; The reaper was wecd- h,T° rk m °i le Cr ° P of wheat this but now wheat is not expected till the ma r in ;- South Canterbury tli the second week, of February.' Tiwheof™ 1 a rS ar ° Qa n-ymg full stocks of , l eat ’ ,A nd . S °- me ; wou i d sooner, sell than 1, + , i lore 13 some speculation ,as to liow, .the markel for new wheat will open, and from what can' be gathered the concensus of opinion is that the opening prices will be in the region of Js 6d for Tuscan and Hunters and 4s-9d to os for \ elyet, on; trucks. Good .milling wheat, was offered in Christchurohi , no S . .% 1 '. de J lv e i T spread'over the | f C ‘r i at sacks extra, but I it did not find a .buyer. h or fowl wheat , there is a better de- ; mand, owing to orders being received! fiom the North Island. The price has ! goue up to 4s 5d f.0.b., sacks extra. I tliere is a temporary shortage in the I North Island, but the higher price of tins week is not expected to. last. There is also an improved tone on ■ the oat market, which has advanced . a penny during the week. A grade I Gartons are to-dav worth 2s lOd, and grade 2s 7d, on trucks, country stations. The oats are mostly going to .the North Island. To-day’s/values in Timaru are slightly above the Londonparity.

_ No further forward business in peas is reported. The crops are. looking well.

The barley crop this year is were .limited in’ area, growers having, been discouraged by the poor prices for this cereal in recent years. No business is being done, brewers being disinclined to pay tho prices now being asked by holders of old barley. No new. barley i is offering yet. " | There is a better market for oaten • sheaf chaff, which is quoted at £3 ,15s to £4 per ton. Here again the North Island is responsible for the rise. | There is a good demand for ryegrass seed, though very little . will be saved in South Canterbury this year, owing to the dry weather in the early part of the season. Supplies will have to be 'drawn from Southland. The value to.day is 3s 6d to 4s per bushel. No cloverseeds are ready to be offered yet, but in any case there is no demand for them: | The linseed market is easier than it was. The crops are now in flower, and are looking well. Unfortunately blight has made its appearance m the potato crops, and some growers have determined not to wait for their crops to ripen, but are digging now. The result is that at present more potatoes are offering than the market can absorb. In the absence of buyers it is difficult to state the value of the tuber to-day. Some consignments sent to Dunedin recently still remain unsold. Lines offered for March J delivery at £4 are not being taken up.

For April-May-June delivery the quotation is £3 per ton, but growers are disinclined to accept this. The North Island is expected to provide for its own requirements of potatoes till the end of March. C .VNTERBITRY MAR KETS. By Telegraph—Press Association. CHRISTCHURCH, January 19. For the present time of the year, there is a healthy anti optimistic tone in business circles, which shows every sign of being maintained. Wheat is still the subject of a lot of uncertainty. Despite statements that have been made to the contrary, many growers are of the opinion that the Government will again fix the subsidy to be paid, so that the industry may receive the benefit of good prices. Oats and chaff are still firm, chaff particularly, and indications are ' that present prices will bo maintained for some time to come. Orders for chaff are coming to hand from Auckland. This trade is more welcome, seeing that practically no chaff lias been shipped from Canterbury to that port for the last three or lour years. Ryegrass is firm at late rates. A better tone is evident in the cocksfoot trade, and Peninsula growers should have a better season than they have had for the past two years. With regard to peas, it is stated that the acreage sown for the jiresent season was. about double that of last season, and is the largest ever put clown in the Dominion. In regard to oats, a few Algerians have tnaclei their appearance, and have been placed at 2s 9d on trucks, a price considered too high for. the market.

MEAT PRODUCERS’ BOARD. ; PRICES OFFERED. By Telegraph—Press Association. WELLINGTON, January 19. The New Zealand Meat Producers’ Board advises that the following prices are being 1 offered on January 18, 1923: Auckland!—Wethers 641 b and under, s|d; 651 b to 721 b, 5Jd;-731b and over, 4)d; second quality wc.tliers, 4|d. Ewes.—64lb ancl , under, 4§d; 651 b to 721 b, 4RI;. 731 b and over, 3id; second quality owes 3yd. Prime woolly lambs —42 lb and under, 9d; 431 b and over, 8kl; second quality lambs Byd. Prime ox beef, 22s 6d per 1001 b; second quality ox beef, 20s 6d per 1001 b; cow , beef 15s per 1001 b. j Poverty Bay.— Wethers, Glib and ! under, s:|d; 6olb to . 721 b, SRI; second quality wethers, oj;d! Ewes—64lb and under, 4RI; 651 b and over 3Jd; second quality ewes 3£d. Prime; woolly lambs : —42 lb and under, 9d; 431 b and over, . B|d; second quality lambs, Byd. Prime ! ox beef 21s per 1001 b; second quality, j ox beef 18s 6d per 1001 b. [ Hawkes Bay.— Wethers 641 b and I under, 6d; 6olb and over, oi-d; second quality wethers. syd. Ewes —641 b and under, 4yd ; 651 b and over 4d; second quality ewes sd. Prime woolly lambs —42 lb and under 9yd; 431 b and over, 8.R1; second quality lambs, 83d. Primo ox beef 21s per IGOIb; second quality ox beef, 18s 6d per 1001 b. ’Wanganui.—Wethers 641 b and under, s;]cl; 651 bto 721 b, syd; 731 b and over, sd. Ewes —GQlb and" under, 4yd; 611 b tc 721b,.4yd., Prime woolly lambs—42lb and under, 9yd; 431 b and over 83d; second quality lambs, B£d. Canterbury!— Wethers 561 b and under, 6jd; 571 b to 641 b, SRI. Ewes—--561b and under, sd; 571 bto 641 b 4id. Primo woolly lambs,—42lb and under, 10,(d; second quality lambs 93c1. The above prices are being offered by operators for export. Higher prices have been given for fat sheep and cattle purchased by tho head. This applies particularly to sheep in Canterbury. Cable advices' from Home- indicate a, better fe'eling generally in the beef market/- •,

the wheat market. Private cable messages received in Melbourne from Liverpool a week ago stated that, the harvesting of wheat in Argentina is general, and part of the . crop is secured. . .Quality - generally, is good, and’ feome still maintain their quirenients therefor are ■ maintained estimate of a surplus of 160,000,000 bushels.. “Bullishness” in the ■ United States is subsiding, although crop constill dry. Europe is purchasing supditions ' are . low and tho nveather is plies of wheat slowly, but estimated rent. 400,000,000 bushels for the coming seven months, together with 40,000,000 bushels needed for non-European countries. The Indian’ wheat crop is report- j ed to be excellent. ' I BENEFITS OF IRRIGATION. A splendid example} of the excellent results that can be secured by the adoption of irrigation in Central Otago has been brought under tho notice of the “Otago Daily Times” in the shapo oi two sheaves of oats, one of which was grown on land that secured t)ie benefit of irrigation, the other ’ beingi raised under ordinary conditions. It appears that last autumn Mr H. L. Paterson, of Cloudy Peak, Lindisi Talley, put some IS acres of land in Garton oats, using 14 bushels of seed to the acre. 'The configuration of the country was such that it was impossible to irrigate throe acres. The whole of the crop made good growth at tho sjtart-, and in October, when it was about Gin high, irrigation iwas applied to the land where it was practicable to do so. This' portion was thoroughly soaked right down to the subsoil, the water being

turned on for about two hours. The effect was shown in a very marked manner in -tho -subsequent growth of tho! crop. Tho oats on tho non-irrigated portion came along Slowly, with only one or two stalks from each plant, whereas those on the remainder of tho land grew splendidly, each plant throwing out several stalks. There seems to be every’reason to believo that the area served by the Government’s Avdgour water race, which will he available for some 2000 acres of land, will prove a decided success, judging by tho results so far achieved. 'Tho value of irrigation in Central Otago will be realised when it is mentioned that its application increases the yield of crop four or five times. TEA PRICES SOARING.

Two standard packets of tea sold in. Wellington have been advanced fourpence a. pound in the course of tho last weclc, and there arc indications that further increases will ho made in tho near future. . According to information supplied to a “New Zealand Times” reporter by

the principal of one of the largest importing houses in Wellington, merchants in the city have been putting up their prices steadily as their stocks ran out, knowing that their deliveries at the moment are in advance of what they paid for the old stock.

The usual custom has been to raise the prices in sympathy with the advances in the East, but this has not been done owing to strong local competition. They have hung oil until it lias been a question of selling at a loss. Advances have now been made, but these do not correspond with tho advances which have occurred in the Eastern market. In tho last six months Eastern markets have advanced 6(1 to Sd a lb, while prices generally in the Dominion have only gone up by about 4d. It is, however, more than likely that there will be further rises in. the near future.

.It was pointed c-ut that there were violent fluctuations in the prices of tea in 1920 when peak prices were reached, and in 1921 when the lowest figures prevailed. In 1920’ 4s a, lb was paid for the standard packet, but the landed cost- was not as high as it is at p-resent. The landed cost to-day is higher than it lias been for the las&» twenty years.

There are likely .to le further advances iii tho Colombo market at any time, which would’ be passed on later, iiiero is certainly—uo, immediate, prospect of a decline™ It js stated that there is an actual of leaf, and stocks in Grqaff Britain have not been s/> low for many years. English buyers have purchased the whole of the outputs of the Ceylon gardens, and practically the whole of Java teas nave been made subject to contracts tor a year ahead.

IMPROVED OUTLOOK IN NORTH . ISLAND. That a decidedly optimistic tone permeates business circles generally is the opinion of an Auckland business man who has just returned to Auckland after an extensive holiday tour in IJ,e North Island. “In Gisborne, for example,” he says, “where, owing to its being essentially. a wool-growing district, the slump was felt very severely, the outlook is now most encouraging. Tu o improvement in the value of products is already being reflected in the baling power Of the farming community and of the public generally. When the slump came on,” ho added, “and money was tight, the farmers were disinclined to buy tlio necessai’y machinery, grass seeds, fertilisers, etc., oir to go to any expense in the improvement of property. Now that they See a chance of obtaining reasonably good prices for their products, however, they are sp< ndlng more freely.” -