COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1104, 18 April 1911, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

. .. THE BUTTER MARKET. ' The exporting season is now nearly at an end,, and presently the factories will lie reviewing tho season's operations.' The year has been one of experiment, owing to the fact that the National Dairy Association made special arrangements for tho marketing of butter, thus altering the channels, through which New Zealand butter has been distributed hitherto. Furthermore, .at the opening of tie season, large promises were made as to obtaining big prices, and reducing tho margin of difference between New Zealand and Danish butter. Tho experiment of the National Dairy Association did undoubtedly arouso the animosity of. wholesalers and even of retailers, and New. Zealand butter has been attacked on the score of quality. The Anglo-Continental Produce Company, ;Ltd., in a circular dated 'February 17, 1911, :had :tlie following:—"Tho quality of New Zealand butter is, each steamer, worse than the previous one, and buyers are turning their attention to the best brands of Victorian, which are undoubtedly the finest butter coming from .the colonies this year, possibly owing to the climatic conditions prevailing." * Messrs. George Bowles, Nicholls, and Co., Ltd.. in their advertisement in the "Grocer" of February 18. say"Butter: Danish quotation is up 3 kroner. The difference ■in price now between, choicest Danish and New Zealand of equal quality is nearly 2d. per lb. Such an anomaly cannot continue long. The colonial market to-day is very firm for finest goods, but. the quantity of undesirable New Zealand on the market, makes flotations for that article very irregular, and, as a market guide, very misleading. Tho topical question in ; our trade to-day is: What is finest New Zealand butter?" • , Another firm advertising in the same paper says:— Danish is advanced 3.kroner, probably on account of tho indifferent quality of a, large percentage of the New Zealand, a/hd which.no amount of advertising.,will, make any, better. W<) hgre somo ■fine value in "Australian creamery butter ,100s.; and milled at 985., and shall be triad to sample in competition. Wo shall havo plenty of finest Australian at Very reasonable pricc3, and the . quality of .this is Al." It will bo interesting to know what steps, if any, have been tajscn to ascertain whether the quality of this season's butter is inferior as stated in tho circular and advertisements quoted above. If, by aiiy chance, the/quality has deteriorated, the confidence of retailers in the New Zealand product will bo shaken, and it may tako years to regain that confidence. It is a serious matter, and cannot be discounted by simoly attributing it to the tactics of the "boars." ■ 'INTERNATIONAL' WHEAT TKANSAC- " TIONS. . .. German, Belgian, and Dutch grain merchants and importers have sent representatives to St. Petersburg to meet the Russian exporters of wheat, Withithe view to drafting' an agreement relative to the conditions which are to goTCrn the delivery of wheat in international transactions. There exists already the QermanDutch specification contract for exporting grain, and it work 3 very satisfactorily. Some Russian dealers at Odessa have lately adopted the practice of mixing valueless stuff with their wheat, ,so that many complaints have been heard. It is desirable, therefore, that the percentage of permissible admixtures be definitely fixed, and no cargo .paid as consisting wholly of wheat that contains a larger percentage of admixtures than tho maximum to be permitted. The importers consequently rro- ' pose a, scale, of deductions. To this there is no objection on the part of the Russian exporters, only they insist upou. a premium being paid for wheat that contains less than the permissible percentage of admixtures. ■ At present a committee composed of nine Russian dealers and eight Gorman, Dutch, and Belgian importers is endeavouring to arrive at an understanding. If this proves successful a contract form will be proposed that may serve as a guide in all international wheat transactions. ■ RAILWAYS AND. CAPITAL COST. It is claimcd by no les3 an authority than "Engineering" that the capital cost of Canadian railways is the lowest in the world. This is. however, not true. Tho capital cost of Australian railways is much lower. The Canadian rato works out at £11,126 per mile, as compared with .a corresponding rate of £11;4d9 per mile in the United States; £21,930 per mile in Germany; £22.300 per mile in Austria; £24,900 nor mile in Italy; £29,800 per mile in France; £33,900 per mile in Belgium; aud £55.000 per mile in Great Britain. The Australian average is £9512 per mile, the average for New Rout)'. Wales beins £13.142, while that of Western Australia is as low as £5387. Upon tho low rato of Canadian railway capitalisation the capital expended on Canadian railways stood in 1909 at £260.100,000. But low Canadian railway capitalisation, is by no means an unmixed advantage as it is due to tho lines liaving been largely carried through extremolv thinly populated districts. Thus, although the railways of Great Britain have been .the hnst costly, they were made through localities presenting an average of 191? inhabitants ner mile, while for every mile of line made in Canada the conespondirig number, of inhabitants was only 300 per mile of liiio. Germany, "ticrain, had at the dato of a recent mtufn, 1587 inhabitants' ner mile of rail-.v-y; France, 1333; and the Anstro-Tlungarim Empire. 1P54. In Australia tlio avcrnec - number of inhabitants per mile is the same as in Canada, namely, 3CO. What is pained, accordingly, under one head is lost j in another direction. SILVER. '5 By Telegraph—Press Association—C-opyricht [. London, April 16. d Bar silver is quoted at 24 7-16 d. per ounce s standard. HIGII COMMISSIONER'S CABLE. The Commerce and Tourists Division of the Department of Agriculture has reociv--13 cd the following cablegram from the High 0 Commissioner for New Zealand, dated Lond don, April 13, 1911. fNotc: Quotations, tinless otherwise speci/Jed, arc average marJi ket on spot.):— £ Mutton—The market is quiet. Trado is e very disappointing, there being only a very hand-to-mouth demand. Canterbury, J- 3£d. per lb.; North Island, 3?, d. per lb. Lamb.—There is pood demand on account ™ of Easter. Canterbury, sd. ner lb.; other than Canterbury, 4fld. per lb. 5 Beef—The market is depressed on account of supplies of River Plate beef t., being heavy. Supplies of Amerirnn chilled 5; beef nrc larec. New Zealand hinils, 4d.; il- New Zealand fore?. * 23d. per lb. Butter—The market is very firm for *' best duality. Choicest Now Zealand buta~ ter 109r. ner i;\vt. Cheese—Tho cheese market is very firm ep New Zealand, 63=. per cwt. Knuri Gum.—The marknt is ouiet. nnrl Jl. small business doing. Ordinary fair three ciuarter-soraped, £9 10s.; fair half-scraped £5 55.: brown fair half to three-ciunrter 151 scraped. 85s. Brown pickings, common U en pood. 405.: bush fair to good, pale ant amber-scrapcd, £8 55.;-stock, .309 tons,