COMMERCIAL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2681, 10 December 1909, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

BUTTER

Writing under date, London, October 29, Messrs. W. Weddel and Co. report for Australian and New Zealand butters are daily increasing in activity, and by the end of November will be in full swing. Unlike the last few years, Australian and New Zealand butters have been off our markets from June to the middle of September. This absence from the markets, combined with the continuous wet and stormy weather, has had some effect m causing the quietness which has existed lately. The stocks on hand, which are small, have found a slow sale owing to the inferior quality of the goods, most of them being second or third grade. Scarcely anv first-grade are in store. The better value of Siberian has rendered, and still renders, the sale of Australian slow and difficult. Arrivals of new season’s butters are yet too small to create a brisk market, and will be so until near the last week m November when the first comparatively arrival of about 25,000 boxes from Australia and the same quantity from New Zealand are due. There is a good deal of sentiment affecting the market at present. Buyers are under the impression that enormous supplies aic close at hand.-but this is not so. Retailers and wholesalers are using their stored goods before coming on the open market for their requirements. Prices are easier this week by about 2s per cwt. for Australian and New Zealand, but there is very little New Zealand on hand. Shipments this week from-Australia are 37,250 boxes in the China, 2925 in the Palma, and 160 m the Naming. The Paparoa with, about 5600 boxes is due on sth November. Arrivals of Australian, for tihe first half of that month will be about 47,000 boxes. . Imports of colonial butter for the four months, July to October, during the last four years, together with- the average price for the month in each year:— 1906 _ 1907 cwts. price cwts. price Australia 95.168 118/6 18,497 117/_ New Zealand 2,257 Canadian 156,558 116/- 34,443 117/1908 1909 cwts. price cwts. price Australia 7,817 118/6 19,209 113/6 New Zealand 14,660 121/- 4,968 118/6 Canadian 42,861 118/6 17,890 113/6 The above table shows, beyond all dispute, that so far as October is concerned, and it is equally true for Nov--mber, the quantities of colonial arriving from the colonies are sufficient to reduce the effects of the dominancy of' the supplies of foreign butter. In other words, it is the total supply of butter that governs the prices, and, until this supply increases from now by more than 1000 tons a week, no kind of butter will depreciate much, in value. HOME MARKETS. rPnn Phess Association.! NAPIER, Dec. 9. , The Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company, London, to-day cabled the following report on frozen meat:—The market continues weak, and there" is a further fall of «d in values ..in North . Island mutton, best quality kmb, and forequarters of beef. To-day, quotations are: Mutton, Canterbury, 4d ; Napier, Wellington, North Island 3§u; lamb, first quality 3gd, second quality 3§; beef, hindquarters 3§d, forequarters 2||d. CHRISTCHURCH WOOL SALES. CHRISTCHURCH, Dec. 9. The second of the current season’s wool sales commenced to-day. There was a large attendance of buyers,/ and keen demand .for - all descriptions. American and Continental buyers oper-

ated freely. Local buyers, also'; participated more actively in the sale than at the November auction.. . The catalogues offered aggregated' 20,747 bales, as'compared with 19,248 at the corresponding sale last season. The condition of the wool on the whole is satisfactory, although there were complaints that most of it was shorn while the sheep were wet. The condition of the wool was heavier in grease than at the opening sale. AVlicn this is taken into consideration tho prices realised must lie considered a . shade above those ing at tho November sale. Apparently 'in anticipation of even higher prices ruling, many owners Placed heavy reserves on clips. These being not reached, a fair amount was passed in at the auction. The following was the range of prices un to the luncheon adjournment:— Merino super 112 d "to 12id, medium to good lOd to Hid, inferior 92d to 10:id ; halfbred, super, 13£d to 14jd, medium to good 101 d to 13kl. inferior 9d to tlirec•quarterbred, super 123 d to 13Jd, medium to good 10:]d to 122 d, inferior 7g(l to lOgd; long wool, super lOd to ll|d, medium to good Bid to 9i{d, inferior 7d to 8d ; Down wool, super lid to 12d, medium to good 101 d to lOjd, inferior 94(1 to 10 jd ; :.CbrriedaleY super 12£d to 134 d. medium to good TYpi to 12}d, inferior 102 d to lljd; pieces, merino Bgd to lOd, tlfreo-ouarterbred s£d to 9gd, half-bred 5d to lid. locks 3|d to. Gjd, bellies 51 d to B:]d, crutchings sjd to 62d. Tlie opinion of buyers attending today’s wool sale was that fine wools' were a shade easier and medium and inferior wool firmer. For these classes there was competition amongst local buyers and speculators. The top price at-tho November sale for becst halfbred was 1.54(1, wliilst only J4:|d was the highest price reached to-day. They admitted, however, that the wool was in better condition for the November sale, and that the special clips that brought the highest prices were from paddock sheep, whereas the most of the best hallbred and other fine crossbred clips offered today were from front hill stations. To-day there was more general competition amongst outside buyers. Two Continental buyers, who, came over from Australia, were prominent in the bidding,. along •with American buyers. A certain amount of business was done for Bradford, but buyers from that quarter were not so prominent in their efforts to secure wool as American and Continental representatives. Most- of the small offerings of merino were taken by local woollen mills, 2nd local wool scourers secured the larger proportion of the lines suitable for their business at the [previous sale, and it was their competition that, no doubt, assisted to firm prices for other than choice quality wools. BRITISH IMPORTS. United' I’hebb A»»o«-nTON-CorimiD..T. British imports for'‘November increased by £11,701,000, exports £4,174,000, re-exports £69,700, compared with the previous November. At fine tallow saies 688 casks wer offered and 527 sold. Mutton, fine, d/s 6d; medium, 32s 6d ; beef fine 34s 6d ; medium, 325. . Wheat: The American visible supply is 62,414 bushels.