Fiji Planters

The Problem of Carrying On

Plea For Moratorium

Written for The Pacific Islands Monthly, by N. C. Hunt, Korolevu Estate, Ban, Fiji.

It’s all very well to write reviews, Carry umbrellas and keep dry shoes, And say what everyone’s saying here, etc. (With apologies to “Lasca”) IT’S all very, well for those “Arm Chair Critics” to sit back in their swing’ back office chairs in Suva, and elsewhere, and boast of Fiji’s comparative prosperity. Where is it?

I will admit that in some quarters it is not being felt so badly, but we are certainly “getting it in the neck,” just like other countries. It is the planter community who are feeling the business depression and financial stringency. It is they who know how prosperous the Colony is at present.

With copra in the doldrums and a new low level in price (£6/5/- deliv ered in Levuka —our nearest market) there is “nothing left for father,” after paying labour and shipping ex penses. Is this what is called pros perity?

Let those who criticise come and try it themselves. Although the cost of labour has been reduced, copra is not a paying proposition at present.

Labour can be procured from 1/- per day to 2/-, with and without food. In fact, the natives are glad of work at any figure.

Nothing at present seems to take the place of copra, as it is a perman ent crop and always coming on. Ban anas seem to be uncertain, as there is no knowing when the market will be glutted, when all those that have been planted start bearing. They all say “plant bananas,” but if everyone plants, with the before mentioned re sult, down comes the price. At the time of writing good prices are being realised. Then, again, we are very near our hurricane season, which now commences in November, when they will be blown down. Bananas are very easily damaged, even in sheltered places.

There are numerous noxious weeds, with fancy Latin names, which we have to contend with. We have also uncontrolled animals, such as cattle, pigs, and mongooses, and, in some places, dogs, which have gone wild.

Cattle seem to get out of hand very quickly in this country if not pro perly dealt with. Pigs have been here since Captain Cook, and they are a great pest. In some places, and on some plantations, it is quite impos sible to plant anything. Before root foods, such as yams, taro and sweet potatoes are properly formed and ripe, the pigs clean up the lot. They are particularly fond of tapioca and yams, and the taro and sweet potatoes are usually last on the menu.

The mongoose was originally brought in to destroy the rats; but now fraternise with them instead.

Wild pigs have also been known to husk cocoanuts and crack open the inside shell with their teeth, and eat the kernel. I know one plantation where it is quite impossible to leave any bags of copra on the ground. The bags will be ripped open and the con tents greedily devoured.

Last, but not least, there is the damage by rats. We seem to have been treated to a plague of them recently. A small area of maize was totally devoured, while green, and they destroy sweet potatoes (kumalas) by the ton, by gnawing them hollow.

It is all very well also for the Gov ernment and others to say “grow other crops,” “go in for other things.” Yes —but how and where is the money coming from to do all this extra planting"? We have no agricultural bank where we can get an advance.

Our only alternative is to go to the merchants, who make us pay to the tune of 8 per cent, per annum.

The Government does not offer very much help. In many cases, however, it has reduced leasehold rentals by a third, and less in some cases. This, of course, is some help, but the balance still has to be paid. With the price of our main product —copra —down to what it is, how are we going to man age? Where are we to obtain the cash to meet our obligations?

Why not declare a moratorium?

Those with freeholds, in many cases, have heavy mortgages and interest to pay, or are in debt to the merchants at 8 per cent, per annum.

Whether there is any truth in the rumour that New Zealand is going to impose a penny per lb. import duty on our bananas remains to be seen. This would just about settle

the industry, with bananas out of the field of operations.

Thing's appear anything but encour aging and the planters’ lot is not as easy as many think it is. So much for “prosperity.” We are in a deep hole and in a very bad way, and unless help is forthcoming in some form or other, it will be an utter impossibility to carry on under the present cir cumstances.

The banks and firms should make a start in reducing their exorbitant interest charges, and food prices.

Commodity prices here have not been considerably reduced, and the retail price of coconut products practically remains the same. The price of soap should be reduced proportionately.

Someone is benefiting from the low prices we receive for our copra.

The Government have been very hard pressed, but have done a lot in alleviating distress in many quarters.

There is still quite a lot to be done, though. With the drought and the series of hurricanes and floods we have experienced, coupled with the business depression, our lot is not a happy one.

The finances of Fiji may be in a very sound condition, but we are cer tainly passing through one of the worst periods in history. When one reads overseas financial reports and finds that one bank made a profit of 3½ millions, and a certain company paid 40 per cent, dividend and have had a “bad year,” one wonders if it is not all for the shareholders, at the expense of the producer and planter.