THE BREADSTUFFS AND PRODUCE MARKETS

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 18 August 1909, Page 22

THE BREADSTUFFS AND PRODUCE MARKETS

W,th the pressure upon the Home Set fL™ VT u TOp '- the ruction depressed. Early i R the week a safe of Australian wheat was recorded Is haviS been made at 42s 6d, and a later «U? gram stated that that was *? pr£ *%£ kSi. r aD ind . lcatio , n that further easing was being experienced. This price is a drop of over 3s from reoent top prices ?ieSS I<>nS i or /orward shipment have aTso yielded, and, in place of 4ls 6d, which obtained at the openi nS) only 39s is now beinjg offered. This laWr JrioT is S high in comparison, with the average of past years, and though a decline from record prices has certainly taken place (as was inevitable),, prophecies made as to a high level of prwes obtainiag for a season or two will probably yet be fulfilled Beerbohm's" i«,ue of July 2 contains figures which show that the visible supply for the world on that date was the smellei which had obtained for some years Thi tendency of the irheat market remains firm and is likely to continue co whilst the demand for wheat on the Continent remains so urgent, and whilst the United Kingdom requires so much more foreign wheat before the advent of the new crop that is likely to be forthcoming lhe season, -m pcint of faot, is proving, as one expected, to be one of even greater scarcity, comparatively speaking than last. year. The consequeWis a £ ne , d Potion in regard to lupply and demand, which becomes more acute as the season neaM its end. For the more dis! tant future^ a .readjustment of prices will no doubt be necessary, but this readjustment may not be possible for a much larger pe-riod than the market seems to expect unless crop prospscts generally improve. lhe result of small imports this season is naturally to be seen in the small stocks on hand in the importing- countries: and it is obvious, w© suggest, that at these attractive prices wheat would have been forthcomingm greater abundance if it existed; therefore, we may assume that the exporting countries have, so to sneak, disposed of all their reserve stocks. With regard to tho world's visible supply that, w© know, is now the- smallest on "record for the time of year, as will, indeed, be seen from the following comparison since 1893. The World's Visible "Wheat Supsly ok July l. American

The Australian cablegram for the week records a further easing in price, and incidentally c dull market in anticipation of nsw crop prospects. Sydney is quoted at 5s l£d to 5s 2d, while Adelaide stands at 4s Bd.

In its current Issue tEe Town and Uountry Journal advises that the slackness apparent in the Home market is reflected in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. Last week several of the Sydney buyers reduced their offers for choice old Riverina, grain to equivalnt to 5s 2d a bushel (Sydney). This week several holders offered to sell at that raie, but without finding buyers. The indifference of the New South Wafee millers last week was based partly on the dullness in Europe, partly on the fact that full deliveries will soon begin in the early districts of the northern hemisphere, and partly on a sale of 30,000 bushels of South Au°iralian wheat for export at 4s Hid, f.0.b., Port Adelaide, which was a drop of |d The Sydney business in newwheat is at a standstill in view of tho set-back in old grain at Mark Lane. Our London correspondent cables that the drought in the Argentine wheat areas has broken up, fin*> weather for harvesting prevaih in the [south-east of Europe (where tho crops are particularly good), there is great pressure to sell new Russian and Danubian wheat, and the markets in Chicago, New York, and Montreal show a downward tendency. A special weakening factor in the Sydney market is the fact that the dearn*is3 of wheat in Sydney enables Melbourne and Adelaide millers to underquote Sydney in competition for the remnant of the export flour business with Manila, Hongkong, end Kobe, this trade from the Australian side with the

| Far Ea6t being already almost wholly cap* tured by United States millers." I The Melbourne market is described by, the Australasian as " in a weak and dragging; i condition, business for export being practically unworkable at the moment, whila millers axe content to buy from hand to mouth, the demand for flour being too slow to induce them to operate with any freedom. The market has declined to about 4s lOd to ; 4s 10£ d, while it has been rather difficult to ! push sales. Business in new wheat for nexti year's delivery is quoted nominally at about I 4s 2£d, b«* Tyusiness Ilus not faejin active, as on the one hand 1 the farmers are noc yet selling any appreciable quantity, and on the othea: hand the larsper shippers are not i prepared to operate until the season is a» I little more advanced,' the scope- for operalions being consequientfy a limited onev Flour. — The local demand for flour remains dull, the association basis for ordinary trade . parcels being £11 10s delivered." The Sydney Mail of .August 4 reports as follows : — " The^ week has been a very uneventful one as far as wheat and flour have been concerned. The long-awaited movement in flour has not yet set in, and until millere can sell flour they a,re not disposed) ito buy wheat. The result is almost a blank i week, for outside a few odd lots picked up ! hene_ and there throughout the country at I a slight concession on the general market level, there has been scarcely any business doing. Quotations aie, therefore, nominal. f ! Australian new crop is quoted in .London at , 41s 6d per quarter, and on spot is worth 3s lOd to 3s lid in the country, but growers are not ready sellers under 4s, while buyers [ are disposed to exercise a more cautious policy. "The Commonwealth shipments for the season have been: —

Thus 32,000,000 bushels have been shipped l out of a total exportable surplus estimated at 36,000,000 bushels,— out of a crop of 66,000,000 bushels. This leaves only a-bou* 4,000,00 bushels still available for export, of which Victoria could only contribute abou* 750,000 bushels." An apathetic market which indications of weakness' latterly became apparent is how the local market is to be described. Early in the week sales were made in the nortih at up to 4s 6d per bushel on trucks at country] stations, but transactions were not numerous, and towards the close of the week,partly in consequence of the lowering tendency apparent in the Home position, and also perhaps due to a feeling that the price was somewhat above the actual value in . relation to the 'position in N«w Zealand, the tone of the market became a degree less firm, though no actual breaking down i» price occurred. A taint ordoubt permeates the position, inasmuch as absolute reliance is placed in neither the Government esti-' mate of the crop nor in the Government; statistics of exports. Holders, however, axe confident that they occupy a strong position at least till December, when higih prices here would attract some portion of tho Australian crop ready at that time. The strength of this position, however, is solely, governed by bha relation existing betweenthe demand which must be made by the millers 6ooner or later for their mills and! the supplies still in the Dominion. In the absence of accurate knowledge on this latter point and only conjectural estimates as to the strength of the millers' position, it may not be surprising if the market does fluctuate to a slightly lower level ,£han afe present obtains. The association's tariff for flour is : Sacks, £10 15a; 100's, £11; 50's, £11 10s; Us's, £11 15s. The shipping price is £10 10s, f.0.b., and the Invercargill price is £11. The association's price for pollard stands at £4 10s. Bran is stationary at £3 15« per ton. Stagnation ctaraoterised the oat market during the past few days, after the briskness earlier in the month. London, in accordance wifch the demand from which ' all the business of the past few months has been done, ha» eased off, and the export prices now offering are below the local level. Wihere/as 1 business had been done on a basis of Is lOdi .. per bushel, now only Is 8d is offered 1 . Farmers not being willing at once to accepn this lower figure, business has in the meantime come to a standstill. With the cessation of acceptances, stocks offering from the ocran- • try — though not on a heavy seale — are ac< cumulating, and the market undeniably con* tains the elements of weakness. Little business has passed, and the follo'wingfigures are • therefore largely nominal. For A Gartons, which line is now a specialty, probably Is 10£ d could be secured for f.0.b.,8.i. shipment, but B grade lies between Is 8d and Is 9d. A grade sparrow* bills stand at about Is 9£d, and B grade a& Is 9d. / Oatmeal remains at £10 10s per ton, and pearl barley at £14 10s. Good distributing and local business has been done during the week. Chaff remains somewhat inactive owing to heavy supplies, and also in some degree to the question in dispute la regard to bags. The slump recorded last week in eggs continues, but the demand is good at Is per dozen. Very; heavy supplies of country butter (cooking quality) have come forward with the favourable spring- prospects, and as a result ih» price has eased about Id for dairy pats and milled lines. There is but a doubtful prospect, however, of any easement tak* ing place in factory butter for at least a, time,' owing to the fact that shipment toLondon provides greater remuneration than local supply. Consumption of factory butter is said to be on a restricted basis locally on

ana European. Canadian. Total. Average Qrs. Qrs. Qrs. Price 1909 .. 6,650,000 2,400,000 9,050,000 42a 8d L9OB . 7,035,000 2,800,000 9,835,000 31a 5d L 907 .. 8,430,000 8,250,000 16,680,000 31a 2d L 906 .. 8,470,000.4,550,000 13,020,000 30s 3d .905 .. 9,020,000 2,650,000 11,670,000 31s 9d :904 .. 9,315,000 2,800,000 12,115,000 26s 9d L 903 .. 6,960,000 3,250,000 10,210,000 27s 6d L 902 .. 6,895,000 3,765,000 10,660,000 30s 5d L9Ol .. 8,435,000 5,320,000 13,755,000 27s 2d L9OO .. 7,527,000 8,050,000 15,577,000 26s lid LS99 .. 7,462,000 6,250,000 13,712,000 25s 7d 1898 .. 6,733,000 2,625,000 9,398,000 38s 3d 1897 .. 5,630,000 3,400,000 9,030,000 27s Id 1896 .. 6,430,000 7,850,000 14,280,000 24s 9d 1805 .. 10,005,000 7,520,000 17,525,000 25s 7d 1834 .. 10,072,000 9,175,000 19,247,000 24s 6d 1893 .. 10,700,000 9,430,000 20,130,000 26s 9d

Equivalent Wheat. Flour. inWhewfe. Bushels. 2001b Sacks. Bushels. Victoria .. .. 12,159,996 461,500 14,375,225 S. Australia .. 11,790,000 473,000 13,100,400 N. S. Wales . ? 3,245,824 142,000 3,927,42* W. Australia.: 622,000 8,000 660,405" Total .. 27,817.820 €84.506 32,063,449