Boom-Time For

W. Samoa

Cocoabeans Hit an All-time High —And are Still Rising

Apia. Dec. 28.

COCOABEANS continue in heavy de mand in overseas markets and, at this writing, first-grade beans are bringing between £l7O and £lBO fob. Apia.

The normal pre-war price for the same grade beans was between £5O and £6O and the large increase in price has brought about a boom in the industry in Western Samoa. It is expected in some quarters that they will reach £2OO shortly.

Costs have risen, also, but European planters, even after paying higher rates for labour, are making a substantial pro fit and many who were previously heavily indebted to Apia trading firms are for the first time in long years, “in the clear.”

And just as European and Samoan producers are enjoying an unprecedented wave of prosperity, so too are the Chinese plantation labourers. In normal times they earned from £5 to £lO per month; now they are getting up to £4O per month for the same work.

These men are “indentured” labourers from China, and only the war prevented their repatriation years ago. It is, of course, the expressed purpose of the New Zealand Labour Government to return these labourers to their homeland as soon as possible. The Chinese, naturally enough, are anxious to stay in Samoa; and the planters who have sufficient labour troubles now are anxious to retain their services as long as possible. Most of the Chinese labourers are married to Samoan women.

SAMOAN labourers who have small plantations are less inclined to work for Europeans than ever. These two examples show the state of Samoan prosperity to-day: The first concerns a Samoan who for years occasionally worked for a Euro pean planter weeding his yard. Recently the European met him in the road and intimated that he was ready for his services again. The Samoan smiled con descendingly and said: “I am sorry, but I do not work any more. I have a ‘aficasi’ (half-caste) to work on my own garden now.”

The second concerns a Samoan fisher man who goes fishing with his young son for three half-days every week. His catch of mullet and small fish he sells on Apia waterfront and his lowest return has been £4 cash for his half-day’s fish ing a monthly revenue of about £5O.

The rest of the time he potters about his taro patch and banana plantation.

Another result of the high price for cocoa is the lessening interest of the Sam oans in banana production. It is becom ing increasingly difficult for New Zealand Reparation Estates to purchase sufficient bananas to keep their new banana-fig industry flourishing. The price to banana producers has recently been increased to 7/6 per case; but growers, particularly in the cocoa districts, are showing little interest and are concentrating on cocoa production.

The demand for “dri-dated” bananas (banana figs) has resulted in a number of new factories springing up all over the Territory. New Zealand is demanding larger and larger quantities of these dried bananas especially Wellington and Christchurdh where they rarely see the fresh fruit. Production at present in Western Samoa, however, will not supply Auckland.

Added to the falling off in banana production, mentioned above, recent north-westerly weather has played havoc with banana plantations most of those plants bearing bunches of fruit were blown down.

APIA has had its biggest Christmas “splurge” in history. Every store, from the largest to the smallest,

reports unprecedented Christmas buying —the direct result of the cocoa boom, Even bad weather did not dampen this

Christmas spending spree on the part of both Samoans and Europeans who have more money now than even during the height of the Yankee invasion.

Certain foodstuffs were scarce in the Territory at the beginning of December but then two overseas ships “Matua’' from Auckland and “Waikawa” from Australia carrying large stocks of goods, arrived just before the Christmas period. In January we expect American goods of which we are, at present, short.

Among news circulating on the beach in relation to the present boom-time is the story that, at a meeting of the London Missionary Society adherents just after Christmas, contributions to the missionary funds totalled £6,500.

Imports of foodstuffs, drapery, building materials and hardware are increasing and will reach record figures this year.

The Administration has now abolished the import licence system in respect of New Zealand although the licence is still necessary in respect to other countries.

The British ship “Meadowbank” is at present lifting 1,500 tons of copra here for the British market.