TRADE IN PRODUCE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 903, 21 February 1930, Page 12

TRADE IN PRODUCE

POTATO MARKET QUIET CHEAP ONIONS SUN OFFICE, 9 a.m. Little movement has been recorded in grain, seed, and produce circles over the week. Merchants are experiencing a very quiet period, and will do until the South Island potato trade starts. The spot potato market is firmer at the moment as a result of the extreme surplus having been worked off. Favoured with exceptional growing weather, however, the autumn crop should be a bounteous one, so there is little likelihood of there being any clear potatoes lor some considerable time, especially in view of the reports from the South, which state that there is a heavy crop down there. On the spot, the tubers sell through merchants’ stores, subject to the usual traders’ discounts, and terms of delivery, at 7s 6cl a cwt.; in the marts best potatoes sell around 8s a cwt. Heavy Supplies of Onions The market for onions remains low, with heavy supplies still available at £4 10s a ton f.o.r. Pukekohe; through store, Auckland, merchants are asking 6s 6d a cwt. In other years some of the surplus could have been worked off with export orders, but this season it seems that, there is little likelihood of that eventuating. For one thing Melbourne, with a heavy crop and low prices, is looking for an overseas outlet, and further. Vancouver, usually the biggest buyer at this time of the year, seems to have a bigger carry-over than for some years.

Oat Market Firm The market for feed oats remains very firm with supplies short on the spot. Owing to the lateness of the harvest in the {South it is difficult to secure further supplies at a moment’s notice. There still seems little likelihood of any drop in price when the new season’s grain becomes available as there has been no carry-over to speak of, and the new crop is not an exceptionally big one. The through store price, Auckland, for B Gartons remains firm around 5s a bushel. Supplies of chaff remain extremely light on the spot. A small shipment of Blenheim arrives today: this should practically all go into immediate consumption. Through store, Auckland, merchants are asking up to £ll a ton. Maize Market Quiet The market for maize is unchanged. The position as far as Gisborne is concerned is, if anything, a little weaker as Auckland merchants are not bothering about supplies from that quarter meantime, mostly being covered for immediate requirements. The South African shipment is due next month, and there will be a further shipment from Java in May. Ample stocks of bran and pollard are held on the spot. Through merchants’ stores bran sells at 9s a cwt.; pollard at 10s 6d a cwt. The market for wheat is a little easier following quotations for the new season’s grain. Merchants are getting 7s lOd through store, Auckland, at the moment, but forward business is being done at from 7s 6d to 7s 8d a bushel.