CORNER IN POTATOES.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 232, 1 October 1928, Page 16

CORNER IN POTATOES.

SENSATIONAL RISE.

ASTUTE WELLINGTON FIRM. 1 PUBLIC WILL PAY. 1 If rumour speaks true, the housewives of Auckland and other parts of the Dominion will find their weekly accounts ® jumping up as the result of excessive c ' prices for potatoes. The position is that at this time of year almost the whole of New Zealand t is dependent upon the potato fields of t Canterbury. The general impression jduring the present season has been that in the absence of export there would be a surplus of potatoes in the t Dominion, but reliable statistics are a always difficult to obtain. r Within clie last few weteks the fact 0 that potatoes have not been coming I forward freely from Canterbury farmers v has led Christchurch merchants to advise their clients that there might be a shortage. The consequence has been a gradual hardening of the market and J from an f.o.b. Lyttelton price of £5 10/ to £5 12/6 on September 1, the j rate a week ago was £7 5/. To-day it is nominally £12, but actually it is * what the holder likes to ask. The rea- ' son given for the sudden jump is not \ altogether the likelihood of an acute - shortage, but that a Wellington firm 1 has secured control of the bulk of the ) supplies and is in a position to Bictate 1 prices. ' This report may, in its entirety, require confirmation, but one fact is known, namely, that the firm in question has had for some time large stocks in the Auckland harbour sheds and has been, in coloquial parlance, "sitting on them" and waiting for the advance that has now come. At every suitable opportunity it has added to its stocks and now has about 10,000 sacks here. A remarkable feature of the present rise is its suddenness. As recently as yesterday Southern potatoes were sell-* ing in the local auction marts at 9/6 to 10/6 per cwt; on to-day's Southern paritv thev would be worth at least 16/. * There is always a fair amount of speculation ii> the potato market and it is now reported that many oversellers are likely to get "nipped" badly. Until a few weeks back potatoes for delivery in October were quoted at £0 10/ f.o.b. Many thousands of tons would be sold round about that figure, and those who made the deals are now looking around for the potatoes with which to fulfil their contracts. If they have only one source to get them from the result may be disastrous. ! It is understood that Aucklanders, never averse to speculation, are not largely involved in the present contretemps. They will, however, have to buy for current requirements and, to all appearances, will have to pay what the holder, or holders, of the potatoes care to ask, and then pass the increased cost on to their customers. A consoling feature from the point of view of the Auckland housewife is that within a few weeks Pukekohe potatoes will commence to come on the market in fair quantities and once this occurs there will be a definite check on possible exploitation.