lo Sov. 



Greek Currants. 



765 



The current year closes on 22nd August. The shipments from Greece for 

 the years closing on that date in 1 9 1 o and i < 1 1 respectively were as follow : — 



Making allowances for fruit carried ovei to the following season^ 

 and old fruit brought over from the previous one, the crop of 1910 was 

 123,000 tons as against 185,000 in 1909, and 185,000 in 1908. 



The currant season of 1910-11 opened in the United Kingdom on 13th 

 September, 1910. The quality was, in general, all that could be desired. 

 No finer crop had been gathered since the year 1901. This was largely 

 attributed to the fact that the Act ratifying the convention between the- 

 Greek Government and the Privileged Company imposes pains and penalties 

 upon growers offering for sale immature and insufficiently dried fruit, and 

 empowers the Customs authorities to prohibit the shipment of such fruit. 

 The opening prices, per cwt., duty paid, were as follow: — 



Vostizza ... ... ... ... 385. to 42s., and up to 50s. 



Gulf, including I'anuriti ... ... 34s. to 43s. 



Patras ... ... ... ... 33s. to 38s. 



Amalias ... ... ... ... 28s. to 32s. 



Pyrgos and Provincial ... ... 26s. qd. to 27s. 6d. 



Smalls ... ... ... ... 30s. to 38s. 



For comparison purposes Australian fruit should be regarded as being worth 

 say, 6s. per cwt. lower, this amount being made up as follows : — English duty, 

 2s. ; freight, is. gd. ; landing charges, 2s. 3d. 



These prices were considered very high; and they were, indeed, from 

 6s. to 15s. per cwt. higher than the prices paid at the opening of the pre- 

 ceding season. Business was, in consequence, very small. Prices re- 

 mained almost unchanged for the first month of the sea.son, with fairly 

 good business in fruit below 30s. and with restricted sales for the dearer- 

 qualities. Pyrgos continued in great favour. 



By the second week in October, the c.i.f. quotations for Pyrgos in 

 (juarter cases weakened to 22s. 9d. and the duty-paid price fell corres- 

 pondingly to 22s. 6d. The fine qualities remained practically unchanged 

 in price down to the end of the year, but business in them was very much 

 restricted. Pyrgos and Provincial fruit monopolized the interest of the 

 market and its price gradually hardened, and closed at the end of December 

 at 27s. 9d. per cwt., duty paid, the c.i.f. price demanded by Greece being 

 then 25s. For the remaining five months of the season, fine fruit con- 

 tinued neglected until its owners were compelled to reduce the price almost 

 to the level of Provincial before they could sell it. Choicest shade-dried 

 Vostizzas, for which the owners refused 43s. in October, were sold at 30s. 

 in June; parcels of Zante, which refused 32s. in October, are now on 

 offer at 26s. Pyrgos and Provincial fluctuated between 27s. 3d. and 20s. 

 up to June. It has since dropped by easy stages to 25s. dutv paid. Th.e 

 following quotations of 23r(l Angus,t were ihc lowest for tlv sea.^on. 



Per cwt., dutv j)aid. 

 \'()sli//.a, iucludiuL,' linest shade dried ... ... ... j-s. to Vos. 



r.nlf including Panariti, Patras, antl Zante ... 



.Amalias 



Pvrgos and Provincial, in i-cases 



Pyrgos and Provint ial, in 56-lb. bags ... 



