"Desiccated”

Industry in Papua and New Guinea

Good Price But Limited

Demand

BECAUSE desiccated coconut is worth about five times as much as copra, there is an inclination throughout the South Seas to instal desiccating plants.

This system of production has been in operation in Lindenhafen and Pondo (in New Guinea) for about a year; and it is reported that a desiccating plant is operating at the mission at Alexis or Finchhafen.

The Lieut.-Governor of Papua for mally opened a desiccating factory at Ahioma, Milne Bay, Eastern Papua, on October 5, 1929; and the Ahioma Desic cating Co. Ltd. has since been in opera tion. Giligili plantation, also on Milne Bay, has had a desiccating plant at work for a considerable time. Both fac tories have been buying nuts from local planters at prices which remove any inducement for them to engage in copra-making.

High hopes were held out for this new industry. It was pointed out that desic cated coconut, made in Papua or New Guinea, would have a preference of 3d. per pound in Australia, under the Aus tralian tariff. For the 12 months ended June 30, 1929, 235 tons,, valued at £14,769, were shipped from Samarai to Australia.

The difficulty in relation to this in dustry, is that the market is compara tively limited. For the oil, etc., from ordinary copra there are almost un limited uses. But the use of desiccated coconut is confined largely to the con fectionery trade; and, in that connec tion. its consumption could be increased only by solid, consistent advertising.

Plea For Graded Copra

The copra produced in this part of the South Seas (writes our Samarai correspondent) suffers under the han dicap that there is no classification.

Bad and good copra is mixed and sold at one price. It has been suggested that legislation should be introduced upon the lines of the Fiji ordinance for the Inspection and Glassification of Copra Exported, with the object of es tablishing a reputation for Papuan Plantation Copra on the London mar ket.

A representative of one of the most important group of crushers and mar garine manufacturers in the world stated some time ago that he had defi nite instructions not to buy South Sea copra at any price. So it seems that the sooner legislation is introduced for the grading and marking of copra, the better it will be for everyone con cerned.