GRAIN AND PRODUCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 July 1938, Page 3

GRAIN AND PRODUCE

CANTERBURY MARKETS (By Telegraph—Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, July 9. The slight firming in the Canterbury potato market a week ago has been short lived. Merchants in the city are quoting £2 10s to £2 15s at handy stations, compared with £2 15s to £3 at the beginning of the week. Practically the only buying that is being done, even at this price is to fulfil odd orders which happen to come in. The Waiana has left Lyttelton with a fairly heavy consignment of potatoes for northern markets. She took in 4397 sacks from Christchurch and had taken on a cargo at Timaru earlier. Farmers seem to have given up hope of any result from the Government’s investigations into possible markets overseas. It is now a month since the Minister of Marketing (the Hon W. Nash) said the Government was mak-

ing investigations, and in the absence of any statement farmers are presuming that his inquiries have not revealed any overseas outlet. Moreover, information received from various sources has indicated fairly definitely that there is not likely to be any profitable market in South America this year. With the demand so low a good many farmers are putting their potatoes into pits, and it is estimated that about twothirds of the large crop grown in Canterbury this season is still being so held. The situation has led growers to discuss freely the feasibility of limiting the area to be planted next season. Other markets in Canterbury are inactive and unchanged.