PRODUCE MARKETS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 109, 9 May 1936, Page 15

PRODUCE MARKETS

POTATOES AND ONIONS A FIRMING TENDENCY [ Per Press Association ] CHRISTCHURCH, May 8. Interest in the grain and produce markets this week has in the main been confined to potatoes and onions. Pota toes remain with a slight appreciation and onions continue to firm appreciably. Within the last week or so onions have very materially advanced in price, being quoted to-day at £5 on trucks. This is due to a shortage of supplies across the Tasman. One or two orders have been booked up at £5 f.o.b. for Sj dney and since then the price has risen to £5 on trucks. Locally the quality of onions is very poor, the season having proved a very bad one for onion harvesting. There has been no actual shortage here yet, but it is expected that m about a month good quality onions will be very hard to procure. The market at <he end of this week undoubtedly has a firming tendency. There is a good dca. of perturbation as to how the potato crop will turn out, the unseasonable autumn .having left its effect. Spot deliveries are to day offering at £6 5s a ton, which is an appreciation of approximately 5s on the closing rates of last week, although one or two sales were reported then at that figure. the week thme has been good enquiry from the Nori'll but weather conditions have held up supplies. They are, however, now commencing to offer more freely and if the present weather continues well into next week it is anticipated in most quarters that supplies will equal to the demand. If, however, Auckland orders continue to pour in at the same rate as the last two days they will take filling. At present orders arc somewhat difficult to fill because of rejections caused through blight and the effects of excessive moisture. A fair amount of second growth is also reported this season. It is reported that good table Suttons are saleable at £5 to £5 5s on trucks. Milling wheat is still being offered and any of reasonable quality is being taken by millers as milling quality. Fowl wheat is inclined to ease as there is so much inferior grade about. Good whole fowl wheat is being quoted at 4s 4d, 4s 41d and 4s 5d a bushel and inferior quality according to sample. Undergrade fowl wheat is being quoted up to 4s 2d f.0.b., with some lines selling as low as 3s lid f.o.b. There is not a great quality of oats offering and there is no alteration in prices. There is a good demand for all classes of at present, alt-hough no big quantities are changing hands. There arc slili small lots of undergrade barley changing hands. It ia reported that a shipment of suo sacks of malting barl?y arrived from Australia this week. This is beginning to take the place of some of the barley grown on contract but not now accepable to breweries owing to weather conditions having affected it. There is a good enquiry for chaff for both shipping and local use. It is offering at £2 15s a ton on trucks but sales as low as £2 10s and £1 12s Gd are reported. Feas continue to be very quiet with very little business doing, English importers not being inclined to buy just now. They are quoted at 5s 3d a bushel. The market for small seeds c tinues to be dull and lifeless.