Prosperous Fiji
p. 12 · Read in the full issue
Sugar, Gold and Pineapple Industries Flourishing
THE trade of Fiji—“the most prosper ous Colony in the Empire”—continues to show interesting trends. Here are figures showing imports and exports in the three first months of 1938 and 1939 respectively:—
The copra production has fallen, owing to lower prices: banana production is less because of severe damage done bv rains and floods.
Fiji Gold Output
Gold production in Fiji for the past five years was:— *
Gold was Fiji’s second largest export for the 1938 year, being worth £701.272. and ranking next to raw sugar, which was valued at £1,388,183.
Rain Affects Sugar Planting
References to trade conditions and prospects in Fiji were made by the chairman (Mr. E. R. Knox) at the an nual meeting of the Colonial Sugar Re fining Co. Ltd., Sydney, on May 31: “The outlook for the coming season is reasonably satisfactory; but we have, since December last, experienced two hur ricanes and three floods in Fiji, where the crops have been damaged to some extent and will not be as good as they otherwise would have been. There, too. the planting for 1940 has been delayed by the abnormal rains and it is now cer tain that it will be impossible to com plete the whole planting programme . . .
Pineapple Industry
Flourishes
“The pineapple cannery in Fiji com menced work last year and the summer pack in December/January yielded 8,500 cases. The prospects for this undertak ing are very encouraging. There seems to be no doubt that Fiji can grow pineapples of excellent quality as to appearance and flavour and we believe that our product will be equal to the best produced in any other part of the world.
“Sooner than we expected, we have found it necessary to increase the capac ity of the cannery by the addition of another complete line of machines, which will be ready for the crop to be harvested next summer”
1938. 1939.
Imports, value .. . . £391,617 £370,563 Exports, value 391,088 462,523 Sugar, value . . . . 139,098 147.439 Copra, value .. 81,775 27,665 Copra, tons . .. 8,130 3.937 Bananas, value 18.148 9,122 Gold, value 121.872 240,045 Gold, ounces . . . 15,899 29.324
Year. Oz. 1934 1,033 1935 6.933 1936 17.107 1937 21.407 1938 89.354