COMMERCIAL.

Motueka Star, Volume II, Issue 47, 29 April 1902, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

CANTERBURY MARKETS. Christchurch, April 24. The following are current prices paid to farmers, f.0.b., Lyttelton, and free of commission, except where otherwise specified : Wheat: Prime milling, Tuscan 4s Od to 4s Id ; Hunter’s pearl and velvet 4s Od to 4s Id at country stations. Oats.—Long feed, 2s Id to 2s 2d ; short feed oats, 2s 2d to 2s 3d ; milling Canadians 2s 2d to 2s 3d at country stations. Barley (new) —-3s to 3s 3d at country stations.

Beans : 2s 8d to 2s 9d, f.o.b. Peas: Partridge, 3s to 3s 3d ; Blue Prussians L 3 to L 3 5s at country stations.

Flour (millers’ quotations): Roller £lO 10s. Pollard : £5 ton. Bran : £4 ss. Oatmeal : £l4 f.o.b. Hay: £2 10s to £2 15s delivered. Oatsheaf chaff: 55s to 60s at country stations. Onions : 65s to 70s at country stations.

Potatoes : Beauty of Hebron, 50s kidneys 50s, derwents for forward delivery, 60s to 75s at country stations. Grass Seed—Ryegrass, prims heavy town dressed 4s 3d to 4s 6d, cocksfoot 3|d to 3|d, ryegrass, Italian, town dressed 4s 6d. Dairy Produce; Cheese, factory 4d to 4gd, dairy 3|d to 4d ; butter, factory local, lid, North Island, l id, dniryßdto 9d, salt (in boxes) 8d ; bacon, hams, 5d to 6|d ; factory bacon and hams, higher, fo.b. STOCK SALES. Christchurch, April 23. There was a good attendance of buyers and large entries to-day at Addington market —sheep 20,832, cattle 488, pigs 735. Fat cattle —213, mostly heavy bullocks. There was slow sale at opening but bidding improved towards the cl >se. A decline on last week’s prices must be recorded. A line of 22 bullocks from Mount Palm made £lO 10s to £l3 7s 6d, 21 from Hawkeswood, .£ll 12s 6d to £l3 2s 6d, 15 ftoru the North Island, £lO 12s 6d to £l2 2s 6 1, 14 from Mr W\ Birdling, £9 17s 6d to £ll 2s 6d. Others steers made £6 15s to £l3 2s 6d, heifers £5 5s to £9 2s 6d, cows £5 2s 6d to £9 12s 6d, equal to 19s to 24s 6d per 1001 b. Store cattle —A fair entry at about last week’s figures. Calves fetched up to £l, and young cattle from £1 10s for yearlings up toL4 Is for two-year-old steers, and L 6 11s for three-year-olds. Dairy cattle were as usual, one good cow fetching L 9 ss. Fat sheep : A full entry, but of mixed description, and varied quality. Freezing wethers 16s to 18s sd, ewes and wethers 13s 6d to 16s 7d, medium 10s to 12s 6d, light and inferior 7s to 9s 6d. Fat lambs: A large entry, 2157, mostly backward. Prices were easier. A line of 934 for export, 9s to 13s 2d, 189 to butchers, 7s Id to 13s Id, 1034 were passed. Store sheep : 15,170, mostly wethers in good condition. A lot of 1400 from the North Island were rea-lly good sheep. For ward wethers and good ewes were in demand, but lambs and inferior sheep were dull and easier. Pigs: A large entry, much above ttade wants. Prices were easier. Stores were unsaleable. Baconers 32s t> 40s, equal to 3d to 3|d per lb, packers 20s to 30s or 3Jd to 3fd per

Messrs Freeman R. Jackson and Co, ( 11 conjunction .with Messrs Abrahapi and Williams) report that at their

sale at Johnsonville, near Wellington, on Thursday as follows :—A slightly smaller entry than usual of bullocks, which consisted of mostly prime heavy weights. The market was brisk, beef making 21s. We quote : —Best bullocks £9 to £9 10s, others £8 10s to £8 17s 6d, springing heifers £6 7s 6d to £7 12s 6d. Sheep-—Medium wethers 10s to 11s, half fatted ewes 8s 6d, fat lambs 9s 2d to 10s 6d, others 7s Id to Bs, store lambs 6s 6d.

PRODUCE MARKETS: The Wellington Post of Wednesday last says :—There appears to be quite a boom in New Zealand produce. New' Zealand hemp is high, and a big contract was entered into in Wellington which indicates that the fibre will be good property up to tbe end of the year. The contract referred to is for 700 tons at L 27 per ton, f o.b. Wellington, delivery at the rate of 100 tons per month, beginning in June. Hemp millers are doing very well just now, and more attention is being paid to the industry in new districts where the flax is available in quantities. The The chief value of the hemp industry is that it absorbs a great deal of unskilled laboi. Frozen meat is on the upward move, and latest London quotations show a substantial advance in all grades of mutton. Wool, too, is promising well. There was an advance at the last London sales, and there is every prospect of a further advance at the sales commencing on the 6th of next-month. The season for dairy produce is over, but as every one knows, the season has been remarkably profitable. Wheat and oats are now very firm, anil potatoes are certain to rule high. The position of wheat is none too sure, for imports, of flour are likely to check any serious advances in values. During the past two days Californian flour has been offered at L 8 5s c.i.f. 'Wellington, equal to about L 9 15s in store, which is much below Southern quotations. The oat market will depend a great deal on the demand for South Africa, but as there are now strong probabilities of peace, we may look for a slackening in the demand and a fall in prices.

In connection witn the matter it is as well to look at the conditions prevailing among our principal customers —the working classes of the United Kingd in. The Biitish Board of Trade figures for 1901 show that there was a reduction in the wages equal to L4-,082, 000 per annum. The London Economist, comparing the figures for the five previous years, shows that after steady annual increases extending over the quin-quennium, and aggregating at least L 25,500,000, there is now a downward movement. Last year the wages of 901,820 w rk people were affected, the average weekly reduction per head being Is 9d, as against an average increase of '3s in the previous year. There has been no improvement in the conditions since, so that it would be rather optimistic to expect the present spurt in prices to continue for any length of time.