Economic Blizzard Strikes Western Samoa

Cocoa Price Falls From £50 to £7/10/- Per Ton.

From Our Own Correspondent.

Apia, Nov. 3.

IT has been stated that Samoa has felt the full force of the world depression one and a-half years after other countries.

Now, at a time when England, Ger many, and America seem to be climb ing out of the worst conditions, little Samoa is going down right to bedrock.

When copra on the London market dropped to £9 per ton and lower, the price in Samoa fell to ¼ cent, per lb. (£1/2/4) or £3 to European producers, which is far below production cost for the latter and therefore effectively pre vents any cutting of copra by European planters.

But the mainstay of European pro ducers here has always been cocoa and, though the normal price should be £50- £60 per ton, even at the price of £35 paid lately, the planters might have struggled on. Now, during the last few days, the bottom has dropped out of the cocoa market. Cocoa is unsaleable at any price whatever in the London and New York markets, where large quanti ties of it are lying unsold. The N.Z.

Reparation Estates alone are reported to have about 200 tons of the product for sale.

Within one week the local price, of

fered by the cocoa buyers to planters, dropped from £35 to £16/10/-, then to £15, £10, and, ultimately to £7/10/- per ton. It costs about £12 per ton to pick, ferment, wash, dry, bag and cart cocoa, so that, of course, it would not pay planters to touch the product at this rate. And even the £7/10/- price is paid only to estates mortgaged to the firms.

Other cocoa the buyers refuse to handle.

The blow unfortunately fell at a time when the planters were occupied with picking a fairly good cocoa crop. Prac tically all the planters are under heavy financial obligations to the merchants and are unable to keep their planta tions going without some kind of out side assistance.

The committee of the Planters’ Asso ciation at once took steps to present the facts to the Administrator (General Hart). In an interview the President (Mr. F. L. Goetz) addressed the Ad ministrator and gave him a clear and concise picture of the grave situation the cocoa planters are confronted with.

He asked for a moratorium with refer ence to Chinese overhead expenses, plantation rents and planters’ debts.

General Hart stated that he realised and was impressed with the seriousness of the position and promised to do his utmost to bring forward the emergency measures required so urgently.

The decision of the N.Z. Government is now anxiously awaited by the planters.

The natives who, especially in Savai’i and South Upolu, solely depend on copra, are not eager to cut for the low rate of ¼ cent per lb.

Private concerns, of course, are feel ing the pinch. Numbers of outside trad ing stations, particularly in Savai’i, must close down. Commercial and other employees in Apia face dismissal or a severe cut in salaries.

A typical instance of how the planter fares nowadays is told of a Savai’i man, who shipped six tons of copra from Savai’i to Apia and who received, after freight and expenses were deducted, the magnificent sum of 24/-!

There is only one product of Samoa left, which pays the producer a fair profit—bananas. Unfortunately, our only market at present is the South Island of New Zealand and the Gov ernment steamer “Maui Pomare” can lift only about 7,000 cases per month.

After the October shipment, about 2,000 cases were left behind, and this surplus should largely increase in the future, if no other markets in Canada or elsewhere are found.

The price in October was 3/- per case but this is to be raised to 4/- for the next shipment, when the old banana contract is completed, and may go up an additional 6d. later on.