Welsh Newspapers

Search 15 million Welsh newspaper articles

Hide Articles List

7 articles on this Page

------------__--__-_--__--_--------.-__-REVIEW…

News
Cite
Share

REVIEW OF THE BRITISH CORN TRADE. The rainfall of the past week has been accompanied by a low temperature, and even the sunshine of Saturday was not characterised by the saiu: Wllmth which was felt at the beginning of April. The growth of vegetation therefore is not rapid for the tln'e of year, and so far as can yet be predicted we shall once more have a late harvest both for winter and for spring corn. English wheat has now retrograded to the price of 1890 a year of disastrous depression which we were all hoping to forget. The present extreme cheapness of English wheat is somewhat difficult to account for, because there has never been an excessive supply. Even in November, which is what the Americans would call the banner month in the way of home supplies, the deliveries did not attain a million qrs. while fur April they were under half a million. Perhaps the chief cause of the depression is to be found in the penetration of American flour into the country districts. This trade has developed on the side of distribution in a very surprising manner, and American flour to day is no more a rarity in the towns of central Leicestershire or rural Dorset than it is at Mark Lane itself. The sales of English wheat since harvest are estimated at 5,038.347 qrs. and the qutnfcity remain- ing for sale on May 1st is reckoned to have stood at 2,961,653 qrs. If the growing wheat comes on rapidly during the next two months farmers might be tempted to sell pretty well out, and in that case weekly deliveries might rise to 170,000 qrs. against from 100,000 qrs. to 150,000 qrs. only during April. On the other hand we probably have twenty weeks instead of seventeen between us and new crop deliveries, while at the present low price the inducement is to hold and not to sell. It is there- fore by no means impossible that deliveries from this date will not exceed 100,000 qrs. weekly, though personally we look to see from 125,000 qrs. tj 150,000 qrs. delivered dur- ing May and early June, and less than 100,000 qrs., per- haps only 75,000 qrs. weekly, sold during July and August. The fall on the imperial wheat average for April, 31s. 9d., is Is. Id. from that for March, which was 32s. lOd. It is a curious fact that we have to go back to 1862 for another instance of a shilling fall in April. In that year value fell Is. 3d., but then it had previously been very high, 59s. 2d. having been the mean for March. Even in such years of cheapness as 1890, 1886, and 1885, April values were a little better than those of March, and in 1889, 1888, and 1887 prices were stationary. May in 1889 brought a decline, but an advance in the other two cases. Of the last seven years five show that May prices have been an t improvement on those of April. Let us hope that this tendency may again be mani- fested. The sales of foreign wheat during March and April were very small, but this has not been the result of abso- lute abstenticn on the part of millers so much as on their being tempted to lay in American flour, of which, since Marca 1st, it is reckoned the enormous quantity of 1,500,000 sacks has been sold. The price taken on Friday for American spring patents at Mark Lane was 27s. per sack, while first bakers' flour was quoted as low as 23s. 6d per sack. It is not surprising to hear that the American mills are doing badly, and th,t at the next half-yearly declarations of dividends tnere are likely in several cases to be no dividends to declare. The total sales of foreign wheat and flour in the United Kingdom since harvest are put at 14,734,852 qrs., which is equal to about 433,000 qrs. weekly. Farmer's sales have been abiut 150,000 qrs. weekly, making the total average weekly supply 583,000 qrs., against 525,000 required. These figures would lead us to put the reserves of wheat and flour at 2,030,000 qrs. above an average, and, as a matter of fact, this is about the extra burden which the present season is known to be carrying. -Mark Lane Express.

BREEDING FARM AND CART HORSES.

HORSE SHOW AT NEWCASTLE EMLYN

[No title]

Jlepotis.

THE NEW CHIEF CONSTABLE FORI…

Advertising