PRODUCE.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXI, Issue 6, 5 February 1903, Page 13

PRODUCE.

Napier, January 30.— The Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company (Limited), London, cabled to-day as follows ;— ' Frozen meat market : There is a further fall in the values of mutton. To-day's quotations are : Mutton— Canterbury, 5d ; Napier, Wellington, and North Island, 4^d. Lamb— First quality, OJd , second quality, 6d.' London, January 30.— Wheat : Tho European markets are flat, and have declined 3d, in sympathy with a sharp fall in America. Cargoes are dull ; Californian November and December shipment, 32/-. Butter . Colonial (flat), 100/- to 102/-; occasional lots, 104/. Danish is hardening, 108/- to 111/-. Cheese : Strong but unchanged. London, February I.— Frozen Meat. — Sheep : Canrterbury — light, 5d ; medium, 5d ; heavy, 4fd ; Dunedin and Southland, 4fd ; North Island. 4£d. Lambs : Canterbury, light and heavy, 6d ; Dunedin and Southland, none offering ; North Island, new season's, 6£d. New Zealand beef, 18011) to 2201 b, fair average quality — ox fores, 3|d ; hinds, 4|d. River Plate sheep : Heavy and light, both 4 3-16 d ; lambs, sid. Beef : Fores, 3 3-16 d ; hinds, 3|d. Wellington, February 2. — The Department of Agriculture has received the following cable message from the Agent-General, dated January 31. — ' Trade for all classes of mutton has been very slow, prices being bnroW maintained. The lamb market is firm. Stocks of new season's lamb on hand are light. The .average price today of New Zealand lamb of brands other than Canterbury is 6^d. Australian is quoted at ssd. The beef market is weak. There is scarcely any demand for fro/en beef. To-day's price of butter is 101s per cwt ; Danish, 111/- ; Argentine, 101/- ; Canadian, 97/- ; Siberian, 95/-. There are signs of improvement in the price of New Zealand butter. There is good demand for cheese, New Zealand selling at 63/- per cwt. Hemp is dull. The price of good, fair Wellington grade on the spot is £32 10/- por ton : January-March shipments, £29 1<)/Thie price of Manila hemp of fair current grade on tho spot is £35 per ton. There is no alteration in the rocksfoot seed market.' SOUTHLAND PRODUCE MARKET. Invercargill prices current — Wholesnlo-*-T>uttoi i (farm). 5d to 6d; butter (factory) bulk, lid: pats I/- cash, 1/0* booked. Eggs, 1/- per dozen. Cheese (factory). GUlHams, 9d. Barley, 2/- to 2/6. Chaff, £5. Flour, £13 to £14. Oatmeal, £13 10/- to £14. Bran, £(>. PoHard, £6 10/-. Retail— Fresh butter, 7d to 8d ; butter (factory), pats, 1/2 ; bulk, 1/1. Eggs, 1/2 per dozen. Cheese, Bd. Bacon, lid. Hams, lOd Flour, 2001 b, 28/- . 501 b. 7/(5 Oatmeal : s<)lb, 8/- ; 251 b, VPollard, 10/9 per bag. Bran, 7/-. Chaff, 3/-. Mr. F. Meenan. King street, reports : — Wholesale prices only — Oats : Milling, 2/6 id to 2/8 ; feeding, 2/- to 2/6. Wheat Milling, 4/6 to 5/6 . fowls', 3/6 to 4/- Potatoes : £1 Chaff ■ Inferior to medium, £3 to £4 ; prime, £1 17/6 Straw : Pressed wheat, 35/-, oaten, £2 , loose. £2. Flour : 2< olli, sacks, £12 ; 501 b, £12 15/-. 251!). £13. Oatmeal : 251 b. £13 15/-. Bran, £6. Pollard, £6 10/-. Butter : Dairy, 8d to lOd ; factory, lid Cheese: Old, 6*d; new, 6^d. Eggs, 1/3. Onions : Melbourne, £7 per ton. Messrs. Donald Reid and Co. (Limited) report as follows :—: — We held our weekly auction sale of grain and produce at~ our stores on Monday, when we submitted a large catalogue to a good attendance of buyers. There was fair competition for fowl uheat and chaff up to current values, but for oats and potatoes the demand was slack Prices ruled as under : Oats. — The export demand for all classes of oats has slackened considerably with the prospect of the new crop coming forward at northern ports. Under these circumstances it is impossible to qiiit consignments of old oats now arriving on the basis of late quotations, and for all sorts the market is decidedly easier. Quotations . Prime milling, 2/0} to 2/7 ; good to best feed, 2/5 to 2/6 ; medium, 2/- to 2/3 ; inferior and damaged, 1/6 to 2/- per bushel (sacks extra). Wheat — In milling qualities the only kind meeting with ready sale is prime velvet grown in northern districts. For almost all other sorts millers are practically out of the market, and any lines of medium quality on offer here can only be placed as fowl wheat. For the latter there has been a fairly steady outlet at quotations, which are : Prime milling (northern grown), 5/- to 5/6 ; good do, 4/6 to 4/10 ; medium. 4/2 to 4/6 : best whole fowl wheat, 4/-, medium, 3/6 to 3/10 per bushel (sacks extra). Potatoes.— The market this week is most unsatisfactory A week ago supplies were short, and prices rapidly advanced up to £7 to £9 per ton. The market is again heavily supplied, and, as consignments are not in a condition for keeping, they have to be quitted at current values— namely, £3 to £3 5/- per ton (bags in). Chaff —During the past week heavy consignments have come forward. In the face of this it has been impos-

wble to maintain values, and prices have receded about Ja «? * 0/ "o? c ? t t , on> Quotations : Prime oaten sheaf, * V- to £4 15/-; a few lots extra choice and heavy, to £4 17/6; good, £4 to £4 5/; medium, £3 10/- to £4 ; straw chaff and inferior oaten sheaf, £2 10/- to £3 5/- per ton (bags extra).