The Daily News SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29. TRADE PROSPECTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81912, 29 December 1906, Page 2

The Daily News SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29. TRADE PROSPECTS.

An ; sunl (jditorial review. of the position of tin' colony's ./staple inilust rii's—butter, moat ;/:h1 woo! —;ts disclosed by i cent /niirkct ilucluatious, appears in t1.,/ current issue of The U'azette. The writer considers that /the depression in the butter market '' will come as a surprise to most people, alter the extreme optimism displayed by dealers, who a short time a ,r o were ainiosl tumbling over one another iu their eagerness to pay fancy prices for the season's output of lite factories. Tile most recent London quotations available at the time of writing gave fne price .of choicest New Zealand butter iu TooIcy street, Loudon, at 110/ per cu'l., while at tile corresponding date last vear the rate was 114/.

The first si ipmenl from Xew Zeaand, which reach.'d London about .iiree or four weeks ago, realised lib/, ,o that tin: uazette claims to be uiiiiin the mark in stating that there Jias tiecu a serious dccaue. it says; *i'he actual nil! is porliap* of little foment, were the conditions normal; but, unfortunately, tins is not.;so.

The baiter market is demoralised5 theiM 1* a congestion of slock's on hand, and heavy Msipmcuts are oil the water. Inuer sucli cueiimsLaikes lAiveis naturally show a uiopo&itioii to awail development*. Hal aeeuis;inuVilable la tiiat a iiiitUcr fall will 1 by rceoi'dcd almost L'bual1\ a 1 luis time ol the year there is a

•trong demand for Ciinstnias, and l-iobai'iy 'that demand is being experienced .now, lull siippiies are uiucii jn excess of actual mpuremencs, tiud liiul is the secret of the decline. ; li valuer go any lower, many of ; thc dealers*/ tu fact uie »viio:e 01. thi-m. will incur hea\y losses, 'ine price.s paid to the factories ranged Mom iU%d up to over lid per 10, of, say, from 1W to HS'lj per cwt, with trinspoit charge and . comnu.-jsiou added, ilie present price may* cover laiiiled cost, or even yield a very* Slight prblii, Out any lowering of prices will mban L-ig losses."' ... '

The Gazette has no sympathy ;fcr the dealt;», who, it savs. Jiave no >oiie lo blame but llieiuselves. "Tliey went into, a gamule of it, witli fong ouds against ciieniaelves,'' I'or !;tliu consumers, however, the Gazette Jhas: a word of warning. *no doubt the dealers who do a loeai Mew Zealand trade 1 wiil endeavour io keep the local prices lijgh enough to recover the- losses made hi amnion. 5 ' ft may be men: tioned in passing that for the nine months of nit- year the supplies or butter thai reached the Liuieu ivingd<»m were over iUO 4 UoUc\vt in ex cess of the .corresponding period oi iast year. ill September and October, IhirepL-an ami American supplies generally run out, and Australian shipments come in, but this year Australia has been late, and the comparative shortage forced prices up m these month*. Shipments have simv. and the outlook is distinctly Austra-

ii;i ;<nd >'ew Zealand will have a larger -surplus tJtiju usual, the market is feeling the ell'ect.%

Anything that lhay ht aaid oi the butter market applies aiso to the foreign meat markel. Of course, this market has been more or less inactive, but about three weeks ago Ihejv v;as a liardcning of values, with a slight j-eußliuu since, and the outlook is cli.j?tijiftly . unpromirjug. Australia has been delayed by bad weather, but amends are being nxa,du now. and, in the matter of. lambs muiie, it i? anticipated that the Commonwealth will ship over a million carcases tlu» season. In October about lambs were exported, last month 000 were slii}tpeii, and there is reason to expect, if tonnage is available,.oa-,r •lUo,Ufju will be forwarded this month. Xiie meat from Australia comes into direct competition with the product of and must exercise a bad eliecl.' under tiiese' eirciiuistances tlie Mercantile Ua'zette regards a further fall in ihe meat market "as almost a certainly," V\ e can uniy hope that the uuexpecied will happen lu prevent the realisation of this gloomy progiio^licalion.

Xlie woo! market enables the Gazette to strike a more cliei-ry note: "j,lie break m value recorded at the September sales iias been recovered, and the current sales terminate will; the market buoyant. L iHpieslioiiabiy. iliery has been au active demand wool loft* are bare. At the same tone ttK.' scHiciiy & wwru appanat Hum l-cni, ;1> yui-ina me lirai four lIMIIIIiIS 1)1' 111- V.'OO! Nt J.dy lu ;;U yn.oiii'i, Australia -liippeil ill,out) mit! bales less ljirtii li'" roi'ie.-jiwiniing perio.l of la-; \ •;! i\

>d Willi certain;u is thai Australia v, ii: clip a I

j ui.iii-la»i."year. Tm re has li.tji con--1 -iderabh- delay v.'iiis ihe shearing, ov.iiig lo lhe \\ci weather, eoii:.e«jueitiiy there ha-> he;.ii a ill ihe *inpnu.nt. is it to b.' Mippuscd tiiat I lie estimated inerca>c wiii nave no eil'ect on the market'r :do.-t certainly it will; but we uiu.-jL. waiL for i: e Wool to gel on to tin- market to see result!?. .Many wool expert think that the -January wilt tee pricey linn. utu tiiey ife-=itate to c.xpr-i* an opinion us io the future.