What is Lowest Future Profitable
p. 12 · Read in the full issue
The Gamble In Copra
Production
What is Lowest Future Profitable Price?
SOME people seem to think that coco nut planters in the Southwest Islands, under the present high price of copra, are making fortunes. In the period between wars, £lO per ton meant a living; £l5 per ton was comfort.
So to-day’s £4O per ton (in Australian territories) is regarded by outsiders as riches.
Actually, under Ward-ism, there is a good living, without fat, in £4O per ton.
All costs are sky-high, due largely to the factors introduced by the Wardist regime —and especially the high cost of labour.
A 20 per cent, fall in copra prices, under to-day’s conditions, could put some plan ters on the breadline.
Unless there is a vast change in all the factors which contribute to the cost of running a plantation, there seems little likelihood of South Seas plantation owners being interested in any future copra price under £2O or £25 per ton.
As an example of the gamble in copra growing, we quote the following letter from Mr. Percy J. Wood, a former resi dent of Papua; “In December, 1916, I made one of a syndicate of 10 to go in for coconut plant ing in Papua. One of our members acted as manager. I did not draw my first dividend until the end of 1945, the amount being £36. At one period, without interest of any kind, the plantation was owing me £1,973. I have received some further divi dends, but the position to-day is that I have still to collect £723 without interest of any kind, to get my money back, and this is 32 years after we went in for our investment.
“You may think we have a very poor plantation. Actually we have one of the best in Papua, based on yield per acre, but our trouble was that we continued producing copra when the market price was below the cost of production; and when the price improved we had a fair debt to be cleared before we could pay a dividend.”