COMMERCIAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2655, 29 December 1915, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS

I ■ ■■' THE FREIGHT 'SITUATION. , Some specially interesting ptoses of the , freight situation arc presented by bir i\orman Hill, secretary to the Liverpool Steamship Owners' Association, it j report, on, tho shipping of the United Kingdom euv* ployed in.' the oversea trade. Ho gives tne average price of" wheat per fiu'arter 01 4201b. for the twelve months euded July 31. 1913, as 325. 6d.; for 19W-14, as 32*., and for 1914-15 as 48s. 2f, whoroaa average freights were 3s. Bd., 2s. 4d. ana W. 9d. respectively, so that whilst the a\erage rates of freight fell in the second of these ycaro by la. 4d. per tho average price of wheat declined only .coper auart-cr; and, whereas in the w year freights Tose 4s. 5d., the average pnee of the wheat (advanced no less than. los. 2d. per quarter. The report states that of the vessels that count in tJO + oc ?t« oversea trado.the number belonging to tne United Kingdom l at the outbreak of the war may; bo taken as 3GCO steameTs of over 1000 tons net, .and their tonnage at ; 10,000,000 tons net, of which lmcrs numbered 1200, and general' traders 24C0. only I about 55 per cent, of the carrying. , power 1 -of these'36o at-eamcrs i 3 employed withe ocean oversea trade of the United King- | dom, the remaining 45 per cent, being used on voyages botween ports both ot wiuon are ■ outside ■ the United Kingdom. _ l'or the !tcn yearc ended 1911 it' was estimated that the average annual gross earnings ct liners was|£B per ton gross, or £15 4s. per ton net, and of ..general traders £3 per '.ton dend weight, or £7 10s. per ton net, which.'would make the gross annual earnings 'of. the 1200 liners included in> the 3600' dealt ivith £55,680.000. and of tho 24C0 general traders £43,200,0C0, .or a total vi £98,860,C00. In. 1912 freights were above the average rates of the. preceding ten years. In 1913 they receded, but were still above the average.

VALUE OF AMERICAN oftOPS, Estimates of the value of the principal crops of the United States have been compiled by the Department of .Agriculture at Washington. The figures for 1915 indicate that, with the exception of cotton ana potatoes, the value of si's crops will be above all previous records, t the total. set down for the group, which comprises wheat, oats, maize, cotton, potatoes, and hay, being no less than £1,016.197,107. _ In point of market worth com is the mostimportent agricultural product, the 1915 harvest being reckoned to return £382,605,000, as against £040,519.K0 in the record year 1914. Cotton, at £121,800,000, is cxpccted to yield £43,446,000 less than in ; 1913, <but,-wheat i* £54,209,000 higher, at £186,578,CC0, and oate £6,034,000, at . £105,920,000. • The value of the hay crop is given as £175,409,178, which also io a rccc-rd; but potatoes, at £43,655,165, fall £14,352,000 below the maximum figures established in 1911. The price situation as at November 1 last, was a level 2.4 per cent, below that registered a year ago, but against this is a production level 7 per cent, fibovo last year, and 17 per cent, higher than' the average. 4 In the crops mentioned there is an indicated' gain/of 19' per cent, in the aggregate productionover last year's, and of 3 per cent, over the aggregated -high record yjclds; while the average of prices of the fix cereals js only 3 c. below 1914. It is pignifioant that whilst : the cotton production, is 32 (per cent, below that of 1914, the average is 52 per cent, below that of 1914,. the average farm price is U. 6 c. per lb., as against 6.3 c. a year ago, a gain of 83 per cent.

BEET" SUGAR IN EUROPE. Beet sugar production: in Europe has sustained a serious setback owing to the war, and, despite an increase in the? world's .yield of .cane* sugar, the output of all kinds for 1915-16 is not considered to be likely to exceed 16,837,000 tons. That would represent a. decrease of 7 per .cent, from the'output in 1914-15, and of 10 per cent, on the total for 1913-14. The decrease is entirely in the European beet crop, .which has fallen 2,463,000 tons, or 29 per cent., fro-n two years ago, while the cano crops have expanded by 422,000 tons, or 4 per cent., and American and Canadian beet crops combined have increased 100,000 tons, or 16 per ccnfc. In the European best sugar growing countries decreases are shown of about 1,000,000 tons m Germany from two years ago; Austria shows a loss of 653,000 tons, Franco 600,C00 tons, and Belgium lll;000 tons, 'while Russia shows a •contraction of only 50,000 tons from the 1913-14. figures, though the loss from 191112 is 358.000 tons. Holland, Sweden, Italy, and Spain, on the other hand, show* gains over last year. In. other words, the six leading countries, all of these except Hoi- ' land being at wear, show a'loss of 2,399,000 i tons in two seasons, and onsequcntly re- | turn the smallest production, since 1910-1911. The biggest'single producer of oane sugar, Cuba-, is expected to.turn out 3,000,000 tons, and Java, the next heaviest exporter, is also likely to show increased yields, t as likewise most of the other cane-producing countries..

WHOLESALE PRODUCE PRICES.. Messrs, Laery, und Co., Ltd., Allen Street, report wholesale prices as follow:—Fowls' wheat, .prime, 6s. 3d.; fowls' barloy, 55.; Capo barley, ss. 6d.; feed peas, prime ss. 6d., good ss. .3d.; partridge peas, 6s. M.; maize, feed ss. 6d., : seed 65.; oatensheaf chaff, £7 15s. to £8; oaten straw chaff, £6; hay, £4 10s. to £7 10s.; flour in sacks, £14; oatmeal, £20; bran, £5 155.; pollard, £9; rice pollaid, £7; onions, £7 to £7 10s.; potatoes, £7 to. £9; bacon, sides Ud., rolls Is., shoulders 82d„ hams lid.; cheese, me:dium BJd., loaf 9d. 1

Ii . Customs • duty oolleoted at the port of •"Wellington: yesterday amounted to £929 3s.