THE BREAKFAST TABLE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16327, 17 January 1921, Page 7

THE BREAKFAST TABLE.

PROVISION TRADE PRICES. REDUCTIONS CONTINUE. A MOVEMENT IN SUGAR. Though gradual, the downward tendency in retail food prices is still noticeable. Information furnished to-day shows that further reductions have taken place in meat, bacon, eggs and fruit. There was a, distinctly lower tone about last Wednesday’s Addington market. a ltd. in consequence, mutton and beef have eased in the butchers’ shops. For chops the price is aboiit one penny less all round, and for joints about a penny halfpenny less. One is said "to lie in the fact that freezing works are not prepared to pay high prices lor mutton. The average price at. the \ards for lamb was 9£d or 9|d a pound, and butchers do not expect anj' decline m the value of this commodity. As far as the future is concerned recent rains may have altered farming prospects. Feed is bound to be more pentiful, and growers will not be so anxious to get rid of fat stock. From Is lOd a pound for best rashers bacon has dropped to Is 9d. A merchant. said this morning that the lull was due to overstocking and the tight money market. Tbe Christmas demand bad not proved up to expectations, on J account of tho high rates, and many wholesalers were now anxious to quit at «a lower level. A further drop is predicted. Another penny a dozen has neon struck off the egg quotation list. Storekeepers spy that sunplies are plentiful and that tho demand is good. In tho fruit line, peaches are down to anything between 6d and Is 6d a pound, apricots, dessert, to Is, grapes to 3s 6d. tomatoes to Is fid, cherrv plums to fid, and damson plums to fid. The black currant season is nearly over, the present rate being fid a pound. The red currant season is over. Vegetables are not altogether plentiful. Peas are up again to 2s fid a peck. Canterbury grown potatoes sell at 31b for one shilling: French beans at 8d or 9d a pound : cauliflowers at fid to Is each for good sorts. Auckland cucumbers, outside grown, at from 6d to Is each. The supply of fish for the Christchurch retail market, continues-to be satisfactory, and lately good catches of kingfish, terakihi and groper have been made by the trawler Aluriel operating, outside Lyttelton. For flat fish, the retail price ranges between TOd and Is a pound, for groper about lOd, and for kingfish about Hd. Rabbits are quoted at Is fid a pan, but trappers are not sending many forward. Tho slump in the price of skins has almost killed a ‘‘ boom ” industry. Hens, dressed, can be bought at fis a pair. Chickens average about Is 3d a pound. Talking of price? for 1921 a North Island, writer says:--— 1 “ r lhe latest, returns indicate over-importation in many items, amongst which tho most striking instances are imported confectionery, earthenware, preserved fish, currants, raisins, corrugated iron, fencing wire, imported jams and fruits, rice and tea, all of which arc very much in excess of last year. It is in these articles that. * cutting ; is likely to take place, as they are bulk lines and represent a large amount of capital that will be required to meet obligations, bub with the ordinary standard merchandise recent invoices show no decline, and m many cases a substantial rise in cost. Tbe exchange difficulty and the tightening of the money market will automatically tend to reduce imports, and as the bulk of the traders are restricting buying to immediate requirements, this phase should right itself before long.” In Canterbury several small' grocery lines show a decline. New season’s dates, loose, sell at 7£d a pound, or $d less than the old rate. Sheep’s tongues have been reduced by 3s a dozen. Household soaps are easier. Grocers regard the Government’s purchase of 1000 tons of Java sugar as a clever move, calculated to upset the deals of private importers. It is said that the Department of Industries and Commerce has purchased refined sugar for shipment to the North Island before the end of January, and that this supply is intended to help jam makers and fruit preservers. Tho first question that arises is—what about price? Many merchants have made arrangements to secure Java sugar at about £7 or £8 a ton under the New Zealand price, hoping to retail it. below the fixed rate for Fiji sugar. There is now ground for supposing • that the Government will not look ort quietly while merchants attempt to cut prices. In the meantime supplies of sugar are fftirlv good, and in some shops the weekly ration is again filb. The Kanna left Auckland on Thursday for Napier, .Wellington, Lyttelton and Dunedin, with, a large consignment of yugai. While the war was on America could do nearly as she willed. Now that other countries are getting on their feet, the condition of affairs ir rapidly altering. The result has been a sennational drop in the principal' lines of . primary produce, a market change that must affect New Zealand sooner or later. According to recent news December wheat was quoted at 3s a bushel down on a recent value of Bs. The fall in wheat began when it was announced that Britain would not be a buyer. “ Prices of many important foods are being reduced,” said a London “ Daily Mail ”of November. Reductions were reported in tinned fruits, rice, cornflour, beans and syrup. There is very little new season’s cheese on the retail market, though stocks are usually held for sale to householders in December. “Dairy farmers have been trying to sell us supplies at la 2d a pound net, but there is no business doing, and there is not likely to be,” said a shopkeeper. ,e That price is higher than our present price for old stocks. Is 2d, less 5 per cent discount. In addition the cheese market at Home is shaky, so this is not the time for us to buy at a stiff price. Many people expect a drop.” A deadlock threatens in the milk trade. The wholesalers have decided to raise their price from Is 3d to Is fid a gallon. The retail people say that they will make no purchases over Is 3d, alleging that there is no justification for any increase. At a meeting on Saturday the Wholesale Dairymen’s Association decided:—“ That this executive of the Wholesale Dairymen recommend their members to stand firm for the price, namely Is 6d per gallon wholesale. If tho retailers do not accept the milk at this prico, to tend it to the factory until the Wholesale Association can make arrangements for the delivery for city supply themselves.” According to latest calculations, it takes over 3os to buy in Christchurch that amount of foo*d which would have cost 20s in 1913.