Copra.

Little Variation in Prices.

FOR the first time for very many months, the London copra quota tion has held to the one figure over a period of weeks without any varia tion.

This is a satisfactory sign insofar as it suggests some attempt to stabilise the market —although the price is still of little use to the average copra pro ducer. There is a profit in copra pro duction for planters in Papua, New Guinea and Solomons —but that is only because they are getting the benefit of the Australian exchange premium. Our weekly reports from London indicate a fairly healthy condition of the market with some reasonable hope that prices may improve slowly.

Whale Oil.

Whale oil production continues to be an important factor in any forecast of the copra market. All reports indicate that there is a large assembly of whal ing ships off South America and off Southern New Zealand, ready to dash off into the Antarctic in pursuit of whales, immediately weather conditions permit. One London report states that there are no less than 128 whaling steamers en route for the Antarctica.

Although it has been announced that Norwegian and other interests had agreed to limit production to about half of the capacity of the whaling fleets, it is still expected that the pro duction will be about 330,000 tons. To this must be added Unilever and other production, equal to 100,000 tons, and last season’s carry over of about 114,000 tons. This apparently makes 534,000 tons of whale oil available at the end of the current season, which is from two to three times the normal whale oil production of the season of six or seven years ago.

Such a huge quantity of whale oil must affect the copra market and gives colour to the belief recently expressed by a Sydney copra buyer that “Only a blanky good war can lift copra prices back on to a level which will give everyone concerned a decent margin of profit.”

Prices in the Pacific.

The correspondents of “The Pacific Islands Monthly” report the following as the “average” of copra quotations at the places stated on the given dates.

Port Moresby, October 1.—Smoke dried. £9/15/- per ton; sun-dried, £9/5/-.

Rabaul, September 30.—Hot air dried, per ton. in store Rabaul, £10/5/-.

Suva, October 3.—£9/10/- per ton.

Tulagi, September 20. —From £5 to £7 under London c.i.f. price, as reported in “Sydney Morning Herald.”

Rarotonga, October 2.—About £4/15/- per ton for native, sun-dried. Only two firms are buying. Export duty (£1 per ton) practically kills industry. , Apia, Western Samoa, October 2.—£7/5/- per ton; native, Apia district, 1½ cents per lb.; native, outside districts, 1 cent per lb.

Tonga-Nukualofa, September 18.—Copra, sun dried on the beach £7 per ton: green, 1/- per 32 lb.; country, 1/- per 35 lb.

The schooner “T'alasea,” owned by Messrs. Money and Reynolds, of Rook Island, New Guinea, was wrecked on a reef near Lindenhafen, New Britain, during September. No lives were lost, but the schooner is a total loss.