Japan Attacks Ceylon's
p. 23 · Read in the full issue
Papain Industry
CEYLON’S monopoly of the papain in dustry—papain is a vegetable pep sin extracted from the paw paw plant, or from the juice of its unripe fruit— is now threatened by an industry which has been established in her mandated islands by Japan.
The United States consumes about 95 per cent, of the total world output of papain and, until the last couple of years, the whole of this import came from Ceylon. But in the first half of 1939 Japan supplied 10,720 lbs. of papain out of a total importation into U.S.A. of 130,000 lbs.; and this contrasted with 7850 lbs. supplied by Japan in the first half of 1938 out of a total of 22,675 lbs.
It appears that the Japanese, in 1926, established an agricultural experimental station in Ponape, for the study of medi cinal plants, and a small Tokio firm planted 125 acres of paw paw in 1934.
Three years later, in 1937, a plant for drying papain was erected and produc tion began. At the beginning of 1939 the Ponape plant was producing 2 metric tons per month.
The company which has this under taking in hand expects that by 1944 it will be producing 400,000 lbs. of papain per year—an amount roughly equivalent to double the consumption of the United States.
Rev. Leonard Hurst, secretary for the London Missionary Society, returned to Sydney on January 15 from a visit to Papua with Rev. Norman Goodall, L.M.S.
Foreign Secretary.