TRADE IN PRODUCE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1051, 15 August 1930, Page 11

TRADE IN PRODUCE

POTATO MARKET WEAK SLUMP IN THE SOUTH Sun Office, 9 a.m. . Trade in grain, seed and produce circles continues quiet. There is a steady retail demand for most lines, but the wholesale market shows little life, with an entire absence of the speculative element. Potatoes command the most attention. prices in the South having slumped to the lowest levels for many years for this time of the year. Forward buyers have been heavy josers this season, and many merchants have been dealing in potatoes at a loss for several months working off early purchases on a falling market. The Southern position is hard to assess, and reports and forecasts from down there cannot be given too much credence, as, right through the current season. events have proved that Southern critics have been basing their announcements more on what they would like to see take place rather than on actual facts. The forward position is full of uncertainty. At the moment. Southern sellers are offering potatoes for August-September shipment at £4 a ton, f.o.b. s.i.

Stocks on the spot are not heavy, and there has not been any appreciable change in merchants’ through store quotations over the week. A further shipment is expected here early next week, but exactly how much the vessel will have on board for Auckland, merchants do not know. It is feared that she will carry a fair percentage of consignment lots, and that this will have a pronounced weakening effect on the spot market. At the moment, Auckland merchants are asking from 7s to 7s Gel a cwt through store, but lower prices are loked for next week. More Onions From Australia

A further shipment of onions arrived from Melbourne this week. Auckland merchants are fairly well stocked with this line at the moment, and prices through store range from 11s to 11s 6d a cwt. subject to the usual terms and conditions. The quality of the onions is fair, but storing for any time without constant picking over is impossible if saleable quality is expected to be maintained. Tho market for pollard, following a weakening in the Australian market, is easier. Importers from across the Tasman are now able to compete in price with the local millers, and the general through store price for either local or imported pollard is 9s 6d a cwt Bran sells at Ss 9d a cwt. Ample stocks of both -these commodities are held on the spot.

Cereal Market Quiet The cereal market shows little movement. Wheat remains steady at around Ss a bushel through store Auckland. Oats and chaff meet with a quiet market, B Garton oats sell through Auckland stores at 4s lOd a bushel. Chaff requirements are being met mostly with Tasmanian, which is selling through store at £lO a ton. South Island chaff sells at £lO 10s a ton. Stocks of South African maize have mostly been worked off, and the market is now dependent almost entirely on the Bay of Plenty and Gisborne. The f.o.r. and f.o.b. quotation is nominally 5s a bushel, although a little business has been transacted at 4s lid. Through store. Auckland, merchants ask 6s 3d a bushel. VICTORIAN WHEAT CROP MELBOURNE, Thursday.

Splendid rains have been falling in Victoria for several days, with the result that a record wheat harvest is expected.