HOCK MARKET REVIEW

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 268, 2 February 1928, Page 14

HOCK MARKET REVIEW

KILLINGS STILL HEAVY POSITION OVERSEAS Cull cows from all parts of the province are being sent forward to Auckland works. Killings of both beef and lambs are heavy, and difficulty is being experienced in coping with the trade. Forward bookings are heavy. T ARGE mobs of cattle are to be seen on the roads in all parts of the district. Dairymen are quitting their culls wherever possible and finding the works the best market. Offerings of lambs continue undiminished. but the tendency is for the quality to register a downward movement. As yet it would appear that the dry spell has had little effect on the killing season, except perhaps to speed up bookings on account of some graziers being anxious to quit drafts before running the risk of them going back on their hands as the result of p. shortage of feed. Unless a decent downpour of rain is recorded over the province at an early date, however, there seems little hope that bookings can keep up. Lambs, which will fall away in numbers in any case within the next few weeks, will not enter into the picture at all if there is no feed to bring them along. Even the supplementary fodder crops which have come away can only deal with limited drafts. Lamb Prices May Weaken Exporters’ quotations throughout New Zealand have shown practically no alteration over the week. There seems to be a decidedly easier tendency in the Home market, however, with arrivals becoming heavier each week. Lamb, especially, has been gradually dropping in value, and today even the choicest selected brands are not quoted according to latest advices at any higher than 10§d, there being a drop of approximately one penny ever the last three weeks. To find a. ready market for the heavier offerings, it would seem that lamb Avill have to drop even lower if the general consumer is to respond and clearances be effected. The beef market remains fairly steady, the high price of hides no doubt being a dominating 'actor. At the moment practically one-third of the market value of the beast is in the hide, and there seems little likelihood of the market for this commodity weakening. With the heavy killings of over the past three months, the tendency should be the other way as the season advances. Especially should this be the case in regard to fat cattle if the dry spell continues. The export parity will cease to carry much weight, and local butchers’ demands will dominate the position. Business in Stores Activity in store stock circles is approaching its height, and fat lamb breeders in all parts of the Dominion are looking for ewes. The market for store lambs has registered a decidedly easier tendency during the last week or so owing to the shortage of feed that is now becoming general. At Addington yesterday a drop of 2s a head was registered. Good breeding ewes appear to register little change in values, and meet with a good demand. At Westfield yesterday the market for beef registered a slightly easier tendency, and the demand at times was weak arid not well sustained. Little quotable change took place in prices, however. Only one lino of heavy prime bullocks came forward, the balance of the yarding being of the medium and light-weight class. Sheep met with a rather uneven sale. Well finished, big-framed wethers met with a ready sale at prices if anything in advance of late rates. Ewes, not in so great a demand, sold up to late rates. A pen of big-framed prime wethers, with nothing out of the way to commend them, sold on account of W. W. Massey, made to 30s. Good lambs met with a firm market, but inferior finished and small met with a slack demand. Exceptionally heavy big-framed lambs, averaging in the vicinity of 451 b, made 32s 6d. A small yarding of calves met with a good demand, and well finished vealers were keenly sought after. Pigs sold at late quotations. Westfield Values. Lambs: Extra heavy prime lambs made £ I 6s 6d; heavy prime lambs £ 1 5s to £1 6s 3d, lighter prime lambs £1 3s to £1 4s 9d, light prime lambs £1 Is to £1 25s 9d, plain lambs 16s to £l, store lambs 12s 6d to 15s. Calves: Runners made from £3 to £5 6s for an extra prime heifer, heavy prime vealers £3 15s to £4 6s, medium vealers £2 18s to £3 16s, light £2 to £2 14s, small £1 6s to £1 15s, rough and plain calves 15s to £1 9s, fresh-dropped 5s to 10s. Pigs.—Light choppers made £1 10s to £2 7s (no heavy choppers penned), extra heavy prime baconers up to £2 12s, light and medium £2 4s to £2 7s, heavy*porkers £2 3s to £2 ss, medium £1 18s to £2 Is, light £1 14s to £1 17s, small and unfinished £1 3s to £1 11s. No good stores were penned. Slips and small stores 9s to 18s, weaners 6s to 10s. Cattle: Heavy prime steers ranged !n price from £l2 10s to £l3 10s (15 steers from Mr. B. Reed, Waerenga, averaged £l2 9s Bd, lighter prime steers £ll 5s to £l2 7s 6d, light prime steers £lO to £ll 2s 6d, small and unfinished steers £5 10s to £9 17s 6d, extra heavy prime young cows and heifers £8 to £lO, heavy prime cows and heifers £6 15s to £7 17s 6d, lighter prime cows and heifers £5 5s to £6 12s 6d, other killable cows £3 15s to £5 2s 6d. Sheep: Heavy prime wethers made £1 7s 6d to £1 9s, medium to heavy prime wethers £1 5s to £1 7s 3d, light •to medium prime wethers £1 3s to £1 4s 9d, unfinished wethers 19s to £1 2s 9d, extra heavy prime young ewes £1 to £1 3s, heavy prime ewes 17s to 19s 6d, lighter prime ewes 15s to 16s 9d, other killable ewes 12s 6d to 14s 9d, other ewes 10s 6d to 12s 3d.

FRANKTON STOCK SALE Dalgety and Company, Ltd., report as follows on their usual weekly stock sale held at Frankton saleyards on Tuesday, January 31:— There was an average yarding of beef which met with a good demand at late rates. Young prime fat cows and heifers sold from £6 15s to £7 17s 6d. Light fat cows and heifers £5 5s to £6 2s 6d, vealers to 37s 6d, aged heavy cows £5 to £5 15s. V<ary few store cattle yarded. Boner cows sold at £3 10s to £4 Bs, bulls £3 10s. There was a fair yarding of sheep. Fat sheep made late rates. Fat wethers 26s 9d, fat ewes 19s. Store lambs sold under good competition at 15s for shorn, mixed-sex lambs. Down cross lambs 14s 6d. Breeding ewes were in good demand, and the following were our principal sales: 350 four and six-tooth Romney ewes (a first-class line) 30s 6d, aged ewes 11s, 450 two, four and six-tooth wethers 225, cull lambs 6s to 10s. There was a medium yarding of all sorts of pigs. Heavy baconers £2 11s, medium baconers £2 to £2 4s 9d, heavy porkers £1 16s to £1 18s, light porkers £1 9s to £1 13s, choppers £2 to £2 13s, large stores £1 to £1 3s, slips 12s to 15s, best weaners 5s to 10s, others 2s to 4s. RUBBER FROM MALAY By Cable.—Press Association. — copyright. RUGBY, Tuesday. The Colonial Office announces that the percentage of the standard production of rubber which may be exported at a minimum rate of duty from Ceylon and Malaya for the quarter begin-

BUTTER FOR EXPORT BIG SHIPMENT TO CANADA (From Our Resident Reporter.') WELLINGTON, Wednesday. Since last August New Zealand has sent about 300,000 boxes of butter to Canada and several shipments to America. Australia has been sending to both countries direct, but owing to the Paterson subsidy scheme, butter from that country has been subject to a six cents dumping duty in the sister Dominion, while New Zealand butter, selling at approximately the same prices as rule here, only pays one cent. Many of the New Zealand shipments to London have been going via New York or Halifax, Nova Scotia, with optional bills of lading which allow butter to be landed at the intermediate ports if the market is good there. The New Zealand producer is thus able to take advantage of the best market and, if the cargoes will do better in London, or other British ports, they go on without extra cost. As a matter of fact, the freights are sometimes lower from New Zealand to London than to San Francisco.

WHEAT YIELD FALLS AUSTRALIAN ESTIMATE By Cable Press Association.—Copyright SYDNEY, Wed. The Government Statistician estimates the wheat yield for the current season at 27,111,000 bushels, the lowest since the 1919-20 season, and little more than half the total yield of last season. The average yield per acre was 9.1 bushels, or 27 per cent, less than the average for the preceding 10 years. The total area sown in wheat was 3,984,000 acres, of which 2,468,000 were harvested for grain, and 336,000 cut. for hay, and 461,000 acres failed entirely. After providing for local needs the available surplus is nearly 14,250,000 bushels.—A. and N.Z. CANADIAN TIMBER HIT AUSTRALIA’S HIGH TARIFF By Cable.—Press Association. — Copyright. VANCOUVER, Tuesday. Prominent Pacific Coast shipping men assert that the high tariff imposed in Australia to promote the use of her own hardwoods has caused an extremely dull charter market for the Australian trade, and the almost complete cessation of inquiries for full cargoes. Ship owners are averse to Australian business, owing to the lack of a homeward trade. There is virtually nothing being done in Australian lumber charters.—A. and N.Z. TALLOW STOCKS By Cable.-—Press Association. — Copyright. Peed. 10.50 a.m. LONDON, Wed. 1 Tallow.—ln stock, 2,933 casks. Imports amount to 648 casks and deliveries 1 247 casks. —A. and N.Z. MINING NEWS OCCIDENTAL-UNA: The manager wired this morning: “Secured 251 b specimen in No. 1 reef going south.” OCCIDENTAL UNA. —The manager reports:— While taking out the leading stope on the No. 1 reef in the north end some nice dabs of gold were seen. The reef here looks very well and a good parcel of stone may be secured at any time now as the stope proceeds. The country encasing the No. 1 reef in the south end lias a splendid appearance, being dark, heavily mineralised and full of silica veins. It is reasonable to expect good results from here also at any time. The quartz broken from the dropper in the south end showed nice dabs of gold. During the last month we have paddocked about 40 tons of crushing dirt.”