Fijians Are Not Copra
p. 95 · Read in the full issue
Plutocrats
Suva. Nov. 22.
THE widely-held but erroneous view that the Fijians, who produce about two-thirds of Fiji’s copra, are rolling in money as a result of the present high prices, is dealt with in the annual report of the Secretary for Fijian Affairs: “Contrary to the accepted view, the Fijians of the big copra-producing pro vinces are a minority of the population.
“Rough calculations based on figures taken from the Census report, 1946, show that a little more than one quarter of the total Fijian population lives in those areas.
“On this basis, it may be assumed that 25 per cent, of the Fijian taxpayers are copra producers, but their output varies greatly according to the size of holdings and productivity.
“Thus a Provincial Rate of £2/13/levied on a native of Ra is a very heavy tax, if he belongs to the hills or coastal stretches where there is no copra and no sale for bananas or roots, compared with £2/5 -, the rate in Cakaudrove Pro vince, which produces more than 5,000 tons of copra a year.”