POTATO MARKET QUIET

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 176, 15 October 1927, Page 12

POTATO MARKET QUIET

POSITION IN THE SOUTH (Special to THE SUN.) CHRISTCHURCH, Friday. Farmers are now accepting £3 on the trucks at. country stations for potatoes. The prompt f.o.b. s.i. price ranges from £4 to £4 5s a ton, but little business is done at the former figure, as it is equal to 55s on the trucks, which farmers will not accept. There is a slightly better inquiry from the North Island and conditions there show, if anything, an improvement from the South Island merchants’ point of view. Shipments North have not been heavy, indicating that actual potatoes .there are- not over-supplied. Reports state that the Pukekohe crops are suffering from blight. This, however, is not expected to affect prices materially, as the possibility is, should blgiht persist, of two eventualities, either the early part of the northern crop will be rushed on to the market to the disadvantage of Canterbury farmers, or, if blight should be serious, of a slight shortage, which might result in a brief prolongation of the demand for Southern tubers. Should a late demand materialise it may be worth farmers’ while to pick over their potatoes again. Speculation is now at an end in Christchurch, and any purchases made are for actual shipment The question of price depends almost entirely upon the demand from Auckland, where the market shows signs of firming.