BREAKFAST TABLE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17017, 16 April 1923, Page 7

BREAKFAST TABLE.

RETAIL PRICE REVIEW. OATMEAL DEARER. ADVANCE IN EGGS LIKELY. Practically the only change that has occurred in grocery prices this week is an advance of £1 a ton in the price of oatmeal. This increase is due primarily to an increased demand for oatmeal, which, now that the colder weather has arrived, is in greater demand for porridge-making than during warm weather. A slight advance has also been recorded in some brands of patent porridge foods. PRICE OF EGGS. The supply of eggs has shown a de crease during the past few days, and i grocers fully expect that prices will advance this week. At the end of last week the wholesale price of fresh eggs w»« 2s to 2s Id a dozen, whilst most grocers are today retailing them lat 2s a. dozen. 3t will be seen, there fore, that an advance in the retail price is likely to occur soon. However, it is not expected that eggs will go up to an abnormally high price this winter, lor the supplies available are likely to be greater than for years past •at this time of the veer. The poultry j industry is a growing one in New Zeaj ’and and. until an export- trade in eggs is worked up. thev are likely to be comparatively cheap all the year round, at least in Canterbury. SUPPLY of sugar. According to an Auckland report, the supply of sugar is rather short in that city. It whs hoped a slackening in home preserving would alleviate the situation before this, but public demand continues heavy. Just at present in Christchurch supplies of sugar are sufficient to meet the demand. This demand is still good, but it is likely to decrease from now on. as the jammaking season is drawing to a close. BREAD AND FLOUR PRICES. | Up to the present grocers have not 1 been buying large stocks of flour. This 1 was due to the uncertainty which ex--1 is ted as to whether the Government j would approve of the price fixed for flour by the farmer® and millers. Last week the Hon \Y. Nos worthy (Minister of Agriculture) announced that the Government had no intention of interfering with the prices arranged ior flour, bran and pollard, although the Government considered that collectively these prices were somewhat too high. However, if the reduction which the Government thought should to made were made, it would be too small to pass on to the public in the shape of a reduction in the price of bread. The Government therefore thought >t w ise not to interfere with the scheme, which would probably have fallen through if any reduction were made in the price of wheat products. The reduction that the Government had in view was probablv under 20s a ton for a reduction of 30s a ton in the price

of flour can be passed on to the public in the shape of $d reduction in the price of a 41b lonf. The fact that the Government has announced that it will not interfere with tr.e price fixing j scheme is regarded as a sure indication \ that the scheme will be carried out *n 1 its entirety. Therefore the public can--1 not look for any reduction on the prej sent prices of bread and flour this year. “PRICE CUTTING.” ; “Price cutting” is still going on | amongst grocers. The result is that when small advances are made in the wholesale price <>l some lines these advances are not always passed on to the public. This, of course, benefits the public, but it is a cause of concern and j annoyance to many grocers, who no doubt find business quite strenuous enough without having to contend with “ price cutting.” YEG ETA B LES AN D V ll LIT i There have been several changes >ri ; vegetable and fruit prices lately. Cat bages are slightly cheaper and are now retailing at irom Oil to 8d each. On the other hand, cauliflowers are dearth and are now selling retail at 9cl to t.-* each. Carrots, parsnips and turnips still cost 2d a bunch, but celery ":s much cheaper and a bunch of it can be purchased for fid now. Other vegetable prices are: Marrows fid to 9d each, pumpkins 3d a lb. jam melons slb for Is, potatoes 10lb for Is, onions filh for Is. artichokes 4d a lb, kumerai 51b for Is. and cucumbers 4d and fid each. Tomatoes are now becoming scarce and are much dearer this week. They ; are selling in the shops at about fid a * lb. Peaches are about finished. Thev i are retailing to-dav at Sd a lb. Pears and grapes are both cheaper, the former costing Id a lb and the latter Is fid to 2s Gd a lb. Sixpence a pound is the retail price of both Delicious and Jonathan apples. Oranges are selling at three, four or five for Is, lemons it five for Is and bananas at six. eight or twelve for Is. Other fruit prices are: -Passions six for Is, grape fruit fid each. Cape gooseberries 9d a lb. I No alteration has taken place in rei tail meat prices. Lamb went up again in price at the Addington market on Wednesday and therefore the possibility of a. reduction in this direction lias gone for the present. However, the average housewife does not think about buying lamb these days. It is too dear and it- has been dear ever since Christmas. At no time this year have prime lambs sold at Addington below 9cl a ll>. Butchers report that rhe trade in lamb has been very small price at Addington last week, but no material alterations have been made in retail beef prices. However, it must l>e remembered that really prime beef did not recede very much in price, the recession being more marked in inferior stuff with which the market was glutted, as it has been for some weeks now. This glut of inferior beef is due to some extent to the shortage of winter feed in the country. Tn many parts of Canterbury the outlook for the winter feeding of stock is bad and so farmers are getting rid of their inferior cattle. Mutton showed no material alteration in price at Addington on Wednesday. For wether mutton butchers paid round about s|-d lb and |in some cases fid. Ewe mutton sold at * from 4d to 4id a lb. The former price, I however, was paid chiefly by the export. buyers, most, of the ewes bought I l>y butchers costing them 4id a lb. FTSH CHEAPER.. : Si "vnlies of fish are much more plentiful this week than last and toxiay . prices all round were about 40 per cent lower than at the beginning of last week. .Some prices per lb ore:—Groper 10d. soles lOd, ling fid, cod 4d and quinna.t salmon 2s. Good supplies of most varieties of fish are available.