NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE IN LONDON.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11501, 6 February 1903, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE IN LONDON.

" Weekly Pre»» and Referee." December 27. "WDOL. In the wool report of the National Mortgage and Agency Company it i» stated that the market, as is usual at this time of year, has been more or less quiet, but there are no indications that trade is not in a healthy condition. Merino wool continues in good request, and tihe holders are unwilling sellers, except at full rates. Croesbred , wool also maintains a strong position, but owing to many immediate requirements having been satisfied at the late auction* in London, the volume of business pawing i» somewhat smaller than it wae three week* ago. 6iocks of yarns are small, and spinners are well occupied, while there is considerable activity in the hoeitfiy trad>?. Good accounts are received from the United States, where stocfas of imported merino wools are of the smallest possible dimensions. At t*he auctions held at Liverpool last Tuesday, wcoi from the River Plate wan keecly competed for at an advance cf 5 ptr cent, on fine, and 5 to 10 per c?ni. on coarse crossbreds, as compared with the late Lcnklon rates. Arrivals for the first series of wool sale* for next year now total 95,748 bales, of which 7150 are clatsed "New Zealand. , '

items Wedtiel and Co. rtmark that the wool- markets have hod a confident tone since tie close of the late London auctions,

ness, especially ac regarde crossbred duce. The Christmas holidays* and the ' stocktaking period help to make matter* < quiet, co in all probability the poUtion will ; remain unchanged till after the turn of the; year. The undercurrent, however, continue* strong, but owing to the fact that. stocks were reduced to a minimum at Iμ* sales, ibxxklers ask more money, and u>, transactions have been recorded in Mm interim. Holders of freshly arrived parcels ore awaiting the January series befora offering. .-■•'

NEW ZEALAND MEAT. Messrs Weddri and Co. report that tnufe in New Zealand mutton has been quite s* a standstill. Beef and poultry are always in greatest request at Christina*, tinie, and, moreover, the weather hae ben very mild. Stocks of New Zealand mutton are moderate, and are fairly firmly held, so that the absence of sales causes no' weakness in values, more especially; aa the dulness was not unlocked for. Canterbury sheep of 48ib to 721b may be. quoted up to s|d per lb. Other qualities o< New Zealand mutton aro in short supply, the current value being about 5d to a trifl* more. Trade in New Zealand lamb ha* also been quiet, and without much change in values. Only very «mall quantities of lamb are wanted at Christmas, but a* stocks are light and fairly firmly held prict* have not beta affected, and the market remains steady. Canterbury lambs of 301b to 42It> are quoted at s£d to 5Jd per lb, t>he 421b to 50!b grade wiling at pet lb. Ordinary quality New Zealand lambi, are not plentiful, and the price quoted it s£d to bgd per lb. Some of the beet row season's Australian lambs are. bringing s£d per lb. Frozen beef hae been neglected, as tho supplies of American ohiUed bc*f have been more than ample for the

slack trade consequent upon the mild

weatiiwr; during last week it wae almost

impossible to make sales of frozen, beef, and the cmiv.l quantity, placed on the market hung on the stalls the whole week through, Messrs Weddtel and Co. cay. iJew, Zealand hind-quartere are quoted at 4jd 10 4Jd, nod fore-quarters at 4d to , Tho National Mortgage and Agency Co. say that supplies of New Zealand muiloa consist largely of Canterbury cheep of rather irregular quality; all grades 481b, to 72i0 are quoted at b\<l to Bjd per lb. '■ Considering the time of year, tihe N.M. and A. Company say tiere has been a fair demand far New Zealand lamb, that froa. r j Canterbury having ranged from ssd to Ofcd. Demand for frozen beef ihas been veryelotr. ' The C.C. and D. Company's-report con- a, tains die information tihat the total import* *\ of New Zealand mutton since the let January total 1,879,471 carcases, and ac no otber shipments can arrive before about the 6tb w January, these numbers constitute the in* *■' ports for tlie rear, and- are 38,892 careuet • ' r in excess of ISOI, and 19,714 more than in " 1900; the Riniutaka brought 27,596 car* - cases of mutton. The stocks on hand art _, said to be unusually light, and present «P- / pearances indicate the probability of time being«<at the close, not more than one-third —perhaps not one-fourth —of the numbtm the year began with. Shipment* afloat' are not heavy, and the receipts till quite the end of January will, the C.C. and D Company say, only suffice for immediate requirement*, the demand in-far k« than it usually Is in January, or wants an satisfied from some other source. The d*> j nrand last week was slow, and the output seems to have been considerably leeeaed, and would have been still more so, but foe

I the new arrangements for the supply of tk* troops at Home, which took a number oi really good North Island wethers. It ia added that at some camps English sad Scotch ewe mutton has been used, obtain* able at less money than New Zealand mutton, with no cost of carriage added, and contractors naturally minimbed the losses <, which the present high valuta of New Zea* , <' land mutton entailed- " • << There is no alteration in values,.holders feeling that no alight lowering of prices would appreciably affect the demand, even ' ";Z did the stocks permit a much-increased out- , * put. The limited number of sales effectad.' s - :> nave been at. about 5Jd per lb for Canterbury sheep, ssd s being occasionally obtained * s, v for special carcases, but the bulk have mads ' \..k the lower .price. North Island mutton it ■-i nominally worth 5Jd per lb, but seldom rea-\>- »* Uses this.in full; even off the hooka at"-., Smithfield. In common with other meats, New Zealand lamb has met with a slow trade; for the few that are wanted values ~| have been maintained. Best weights bar* sold at sjd, and heavy tegs at about old, with second quality at 5Jd ito 5Jd per Jb. Very little trade has been done in frosts.' beef. ■ ■'• Messrs H. S. Fitter and Sojis obsero:—. " "The prices for New Zealand mutton Are r," rather high, and cannot be expected to kesp ,''. at this leveC. Many of'the smaller sheep ,; are very poor and plain. There is Vim doing in New Zealand lamb just now,'as "J \ this ia the off-season, but there being few , .' on hand pricen continue firm." Quotations" • ; given are:—Canterbury sheep 5d to Sid per lb, Wellington sheep Sd to s±d jtt *. lb, Canterbury lamb 6_d to 6d per lb,, KW ' * Zealand hindquarters beef 4jd to 5d j/tt t ,i" lb, forequarters 3}d to 4£d. •.'*.> DAIRY PRODUCE. For New Zealand butter the National ; Mortgage and Agency Company state ifcs4r~> - the demand is quieter, with 112s as the t<q»?~>' " price. It ia generally expected that,the** -' wrllbs a much better trade in tlie new . as supplies from New Zealand will hejoc*? far more] liberal nature, and become ■_$•.'a'" interesting to buyers. I The butter rnsrttl', •) all round has been very dull, with denisat'' ( gradually growing worse, and at the diss7 trade is characterised as "distinctly dufl,*"Tv£ Manchester and the northern markets hm »|| had bad trades, with large quantities jmf ,'~iM sold, and. the consequence is that butter has declined four kroner (4s 8d); it Jf§ is considered probable that a reduction wfll tfm be made very toon in the price of Prow -jg£ butter. The high prioes of cheese at pies* "jjSj ent tend to curtail the consumption, sad much business is now being looked for this I*p season; the price given for Canadianchssse, [%% white and coloured,- finest quality, it 6ftl * "S? to 61s per cwt., and for fine 58s to 5&.' " ; '^ Referring to the shinment of butter from '-•% New Zealand brought by the Rimutaka, the C.C. and D. Company say that it met visit ~ a disappointing market, for importers an* • * tkipaied that it would be eagerly boughs ', - up for tho Christmas trade. Instead, iff*' * ever, it is stiil dragging on the marker with v top quotation at 112s, only small lots lealit*,' ' ->] ing 114s, which is the pneo most imported .£ were fighting for last week; ordinary finest si' is now obtainable at 110s. ' ■" > ; MISCELLANEOUS. 7"- ! It is stated by Messrs Weddel and C*. | ~ tibat the tallow market has continued in» active during the past fortnight, but, if any* • >• Uiing the tone is rather better toward tns - " '- close, some small orders being about at ear-, - ;. ( rent rates. At the sales lest week 224 caries f , found buyers out of the 600 casks offered,- J the prices realised showing no change from f' previous rates. No sale> has been held tkif ' » week in consequence of the Christmas bdfa , ~-, days. Messrs Weddel add that on cilS v 'j terms colonial ideas are still from £1 v I above this market, and business it, theW'M-f"' ' fore, impracticable. .JVI According to the report of the NaUflSsl, •' /, Mortgage and Agency Co. at the three rt racent public sake of*tallow 2678 casksh**. 1 ;'J been offered, and 320 casks have been •s*Mf*s The demand continues to be of the 1 description, but steady prices have been ***5.7 - tamed for the small transactions that h«**7 ,' ~: taken place; for arrival no business has bJJM" , done. Imports during the pasA have includtd 608 casks from New ZealspO. • . _- i From the «ame hnn I hear that cockafow , ' seed does not meet with much enquuyylHjk _ - is &rm, and the prices aje about unchanged- ' <" Supplies of New Zealand pelts at this t** *jji of year are small, rtnd as thosa now amvinf <|,- sre off full-wocvled skins, they are for til* | most part, poorly grown, and often nx*» j - or le» oockley. The- N.M- and A. Compsaf , J tell me that" theie is a demand for pri"*"" lamb pelts, but tliese are not to be »*»£ v otheoTvise the marli«l is rather quiet, thottgft pricen. are firm; quotations are unchanged. I At the last *a!e of basils, 3720 skins H<*»

offered, and all, were sroid: the oV-moßd"*** ~ keen at full price*. Owing to the «« ,■(' fiupplv, all sheep leather closee very ana* jand high prices are obtainable for all gTadW \ the next sales will be held on the 16& Jana* - : M ary. There was also a good °J° r J* /\1 leather on the came day. and the 690 era , ;JZ offered were oH cleared, with a XK o™6*?*?*'0 ™ 6 *?*?*' -'i*® at steady prices. The 1716 WO«, ,/ -M out of the 3250 put up for sale, met with » ; ,,.-|| fair demand, when the heavy wMg&to wwj oompeted for at full rales; light hidee, J|S the ith«r hand, met with litttejgippw**.. Aj:,;^! Jtu» itU* XTelinnel Tiff g^jjMM

Yalwe to \k recorded; there have been no sa/.es in tin; interval, and at present supplies are limitar. both from New Zealand and Australia: the next auctions are to (>e teld on the 9th January. In sympathy with un improvement in Manila, which from the lonve.it point lias advanced 25* to 30* per ton, the National Mortgage mxl Ac :tcy Company report more enquiry for New Zealand flax, and mv that fallv ids \<er ton advance may be quoted. Very little flax from New Zealand is at present "offering, nnd the business recorded has been cliitffiv from second hands or speculative operations? Abrait 100 tons have been said. Tin.'re i» wiid to have been a very fair demand for fiozen rnbDits, and prices have well maintained, especially for the tint*i grades, wliich are ruUif-r dearer, the top price for Ke!«>cted New Zealand rabbits of 31b and up beini; given as 9}d ; 13,943 crates iave arrived from "the wlouy recently.