1926 IN REVIEW

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19732, 29 December 1926, Page 9

1926 IN REVIEW

! THE PRODUCE MARKET A DIFFICULT PERIOD THE NEW YEAR OUTLOOK Though the close of the year does not bring to the flarmcr visions of holiday pleasures and freedom from every-day ■ routine, it forms a point from which ; he can look back and find in the retros- ■ pect of the year seme indication of how The farm calendar will close for him a ' few months hence. His Christmas ; thoughts are mostly of markets and • produce, and he can generally tell at i this season of the year what his lot • will be. The past 12 months have not , been entirely satisfactory for the man on the land, says the “Otego Daily i Times.’ He has been troubled by • many things, and if most of these dis-

turbing circumstances have not turned out to be the disasters that many feared they have at least boon the clause of a great deal of worry and anxiety in manv a rural district.

i The woolgrower has had little to : grumble tabout, and with the opening of ; the Now Zealand sales during the past j two months his imaginary fears must have vanished. The North Island sales i were as good as those of the previous ; ye*ar .and the two closing events of the I year—Timaru and Dunedin—showed an I encouraging advance on the satisfac- | torily stable conditions obtaining in the I northern centres. The season has been i by no metins perfect as regards weather conditions, but nevertheless the dip ' was offered to the buyers at Dunedin , last week in exceptionally good order. In spite of trade unrest and general dislocation at Home, which has caused | not a little (apprehension, the outlook in the wool trade is promising. Au English paper, the Economist, sets the index number for wool values for 1926 at 192 compared with 116.2 in 1914, so that conditions are still good, and the value of the present state of (affairs is greatly enhanced by the stability which characterises the industry to-day. The wool-grower can approach the New Year with little fear of what it might bring. In the fat stock and freezing industry a much less alluring prospect exists. It should be possible at this season to give a good survey of buying operations in the freezing trade, but this is not possible, and it is difficult to find any quotations of real value with a general application. The freezing works trouble naturally made buyers uneasy about buying stock until they were sure of turning it over. Stock put through by export buyers has brought only medium prices. Speaking generally most of the business done has. been on the basis of 8d for lamb, 5d for wether, and 3d to 4d for ewes. What the prices will be when operations are in full swing can only be guessed. Buyers will operate and have operated, with caution in view of anticipated heavy shipments of Australian meat, and the report from Home to the effect that supplies of locallygrown meat are particularly plentiful. The fat stock industry in Otago has not experienced the high prices of last year when 65s per hundred pounds was paid for beef in October. The market, has been much more steady, with prices moving slowly in the vicinity of 40s per hundred. Neither lambs nor fat sheep were worth 1925 prices, at times falling below last year’s rates to an alarming extent. A feature of the Burnside markets was the low level for fat stock, which was reached in the winter months when growers generally look for rising prices. The dairy produce markets at Home caused a good deal of anxiety about the tune the Control Board commenced to function, and shortly afterwards the worst fears were realised, when New Zealand butter fell to 132 s per cwt. — the lowest price for many years. Unlike the wool industry, which depends on many other countries besides Great Britain, the dairy produce industry is solely dependent upon the London markets and upon general conditions prevailing in the United Kingdom. Thus industrial troubles and trade disorganisation have had a serious effect on prices. However, the worst appears to be past now, and prospects for a good finish are bright. Weather conditions which have been distinctly unfavourable, have affected production, but just at present with the cows in good condition and a good supply of food, much i of the leeway is being made up and it I is anticipated that when the final re- j turns are made there will be no defici- [ ency.

In the money markets things show little improvement. There seems little prospect as yet of the farmer realising one of his fondest hopes—that of cheaper money in the realms or rura? finance. The Minister of Finance is continuing to allow rates of interest up to 6 per cent., and a general survey of the position serves to corroborate what such interest suggests—that money is a commodity in keen demand and carrying a high rate for its use. However, when one considers the purchasing price of money in New Zealand i n conjunction with the quotations in many countries, it must be admitted that current rates of interest in the Dominion are not inordinately high. The year has been a difficult one at times, and even the most optimistic of us have been tempted to despond now and then, but its cloring months find things in a very fair position, and we can commence the coining year with little trepidation. The future is never so black as it is painted.