Samoa Enjoys High

Prices

Apia, Jan. 24.

WITH good prices for Samoan pro ducts still ruling, copra and cocoa producers are busy harvesting good crops of the two main products of Samoan soil.

The price of copra remains stationary as fixed by the Samoan Administration.

The cocoa crop, up to the end of December, 1942, was purchased by the Administration; but, beginning on Janu ary 1, 1943, cocoa buyers have been free to sell cocoa-beans in the open market, the Administration fixing a temporary price of £55 per ton for plantation cocoa and £5O for native cocoa.

European planters and other employers of native labour are still faced with great difficulties in obtaining sufficient Samoan labourers.

Though the ruling labour daily wage is now 5/- per day, even at this high rate Samoans do not feel inclined to work.

Some 40 workers were recently brought from Niue Island under contract to the New Zealand Reparation Estates as plan tation labourers. There is some prospect of obtaining labourers from the Tokelau Islands or possibly Solomon Islanders to relieve our desperate shortage of planta tion labour.

Staff-Sergeant H. O. Wendt, Adminis trative Headquarters, Fiji Military Forces, has been promoted to Second- Lieutenant