Grocery Review

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 836, 3 December 1929, Page 10

Grocery Review

The Sun Office, December 3, 1929.

The Christmas rush of business has now set in, and merchants report phenomenal trade during the past week.

Tn order to cope with the orders, con- ■*" siderable overtime lias been necessary, some staffs having to work on Saturday afternoon. Good stocks of most of the Christmas lines are held, and practically all of the new season’s dried fruits, nuts and almonds, etc., have already arrived. In addition to the grocery trade, confectionery and fancy goods houses are also experiencing a strong demand for their lines and everything points to a record month for December.

Retail trade continues steady, bj.it considerable improvement is expected from now on till the holidays. Transhipments of various lines arrived from Sydney last week, the chief items of interest being Sorrento walnuts, peanuts, dates, cloves, tea and canned fruits. Heavy shipments of Californian muscatels, raisins in aIL varieties, prunes and asparagus were brought by the Golden Coast from San Francisco, and these are meeting with a ready demand from the retail trade. A well-known packer of canned peas has advised that no further supplies will be available until the new season’s are ready, consequently all orders have now to be supplied in Canadian packings. DRIED APRICOTS

I rices tor new season’s South African evaporated apricots are now announced, most grades being offered on a par with last year. A noticeable alteration, however, is that Royal slab quality, which is usually cheaper than one Diamond grade, will be dearer this season. This market consumes large quantities of apricots throughout the year, and contracts are now being made for spread shipments commencing in February next. Local stocks arc extremely short and, although a small shipment of the present crop is due this week, these will not be sufficient to last until the first of the new season's supplies are available. PATES

■ Part of the first shipment of new seaj son s dates arrived last week and the balance of the orders is expected today h Y tb© Maunganui. This is in completion of all bookings bj* the direct steamer, it nd the earlier arrival than usual will enable merchants to make deliveries of forward contracts in ample time for the Christmas trade. Good supplies of carton elates are also to hand and as there is an exceptionally strong demand for this packing at this period of the vear, excellent business is being booked in all brands. Both bulk and carton dates will land at slightly lower prices than last year. BEANS Stocks of the present season's crop of Madagascar butter beans are now almost exhausted and the local market will be short before the arrival of the new crop about March next. Latest advices from London stale that the new crop has been overestimated and as over 1,000 tons have been sold to America there is little prospect of lower prices being available. CREAM OF TARTAR A well-known brand of English cream of Tartar is at present being offered at a reduction of £2 a ton on the rates previously ruling. Other grades of English makes are all reported as firm, with little interest being shown at the moment. ALMONDS Quotations for shipment during December and January remain at the low levels previously advised, but for spread shipment from March up to June higher prices are being asked. The local market is at present fully stocked, most of the earliest shipments of the new crop now being to hand. CHINESE PEANUTS Some attractive quotations for Chinese peanuts ait shell are advised from Tientsin for new season’s No. 1 hand-picked qua in y, and a fair amount of business has already been booked. The first shipments of the new crop were made in October and are clue here at any time now. the lower quotations since offered rre for later shipments and are the lowest foie he w- ■ luive ljeeri since beKERNELS 1 No alteration in the market for Java kernels is advised, and the acute shortage of stocks locally has since been relieved by fairly heavy shipments to hand by the last two Sydney steamers. These are expected to be ample for all requirements until the arrival of the Eastern direct steamer about the middle of January. WALN UTS At present there is a good demand for these nuts, the New Zealand-grown nut being the most popular, with fair supplies in hand. Shipments of the new crop of Sorrento walnuts are now here, and are also selling freely. Chinese qualities are not as popular, mainly because of their hard shells, but the c.i.f. rate today is very attractive, being the lowest for many years. PEPPER Latest cables from Singapore last weekend advised a sudden weakening in the prices of all grades of pepper, for shipment by the December direct steamer only. The reduction in prices represents a decline of 3d a lb, as compared with the previous week’s quotations, but as most of the business for the above steamer has already been done, only limited interest is being shown meantime. EASTERN GOODS The Narbada is now loading in Calcutta and is due to leave Singapore about December 12, consequently any additional orders for Eastern lines must be sent forward immediately. Latest lists show that tapiocas in all qualities are unchanged. Mace and nutmegs again show fractional reductions, while a further decline in canned pineapples is recorded. Heavy shipments of the above lines will come forward by the direct steamer, the bookings of pineapples in particular being much greater than in former years. CLOVES The first shipments of the new season’s Zanzibar cloves have just arrived to a short market and will be in ample time for summer requirements. Quotations are considerably below last season’s rates, and latest cables from London shippers advise a further reduction of 2d a lb for shipment in December and January. PRUNES The arrival of the first of the new crop of Californian prunes lias relieved the shortage locally, and good sales are reported. The latest information from the Californian market is to the effect that prices are again easier, all sizes being reduced Is 3d a cwt. The future position is very hard to forecast at present as reports from producing centres this year have been most conflicting. RAISINS

Most grades of raisins were reduced this week, Thompson’s seedless now being Gd a cwt. lower, while both seeded and seedless raisins in cartons also showslight reductions. There again, the higher prices predicted have not eventuated, and future values are very uncertain. BLUFSTON f All makes of English bluestone, including Macciesfields, have declined in price, present rates being £2 a ton below the prices previously ruling. Little business is passing at the moment, as most of the indents have already been placed.