Copra

Outlook Much Improved :: South

Pacific Pool to Operate Early in

1942 Sales at £B/10/- f.o.b.

Rabaul.

THE South Pacific Ccpra Marketing Pool will come into operation early in the New Year. It will receive, store, and market the copra production of the fol lowing territories, and return the net proceeds of the sales to the individual ccpra producers: —

Australian British

New Guinea Fiji Papua Solomons

New Zealand Tonga

Samoa Gilbert & Ellice Cook Islands FREE FRENCH

Condominium Tahiti

New Hebrides New Caledonia The various Governments concerned are moving slowly and carefully towards the completion of the plan. As a result of discussions and a better understanding all round, much of the hostility of the big Pacific trading firms has disappeared.

It is clearly the intention of the Pool managers, while making the interests of the individual planters their primary con sideration, to use, as far as possible, the transport, storage and marketing facilities of the big firms, and not to interfere unduly with the existing machinery.

The plan is now being operated by Australia, so far as it affects the Man dated Territory of New Guinea. A local New Guinea Copra Committee receives the copra from the producers, and is responsible for the care of same, and for distributing proceeds to the planters.

A COPRA Marketing Committee, head quarters in Canberra, sells the copra.

The Committee at present comprises Messrs. J. F. Murphy (Denartment of Commerce), J. R. Halligan (Territories Department) and C. E. Leake (New Guinea Trade Agency), with Mr. Leake as executive officer. The Committee, so far, has sold the New Guinea copra at £B/10/- per ton, f.o.b. Rabaul, export duty on buyer’s account—a very good price, in the circumstances, which should give the grower £6/10/- per ton, net.

As soon as the full Pool functions, representatives of the other Governments will be added to the present Australian Marketing Committee, which then will become the South Pacific Copra Marketing Board, with local Committees in all the Territories, as well as in New Guinea.

The New Guinea price (now £B/10/- Australian, f.0.b., Rabaul) probably will be the top of the current quotation. Fiji’s present grade is not as good as New Guinea’s, and that of the other Territories less than that of Fiji.

The present Australian Marketing Com mittee has high hopes of an improving market —it believes that £B/10/- f.o.b.

Rabaul will be left behind in 1942.

It is expected that the full Copra Mar keting Board will give prompt attention to removing stocks accumulated in the outlying groups—especially Tonga and Gilbert and Ellice Colony. There is, at present, no accumulation in New Guinea, Solomons or Fiji.

The Governments say that, as a pre liminary to operating the Pool, they are giving “reasonable consideration” to mer chants who have entered into contracts for future shipments of copra. Shipping licences, formerly restricted to end of November, have been successively ex tended to end of December, of January, and. very recently, of February. These methods are allowing most people and in terests concerned to adjust themselves to the new conditions of a Government controlled industry.

No one in Australia appears to know

why Hon. Gerald Hogan resigned from the NG Copra Committee, where he was doing good work. His resignation has not been accepted. He has been asked to carry on, and is doing so.