Western Samoa
pp. 25-26 · Read in the full issue
Prices Recession Felt in Western Samoa Trade Figures Released
From Our Own Correspondent APIA, April 20.
PRELIMINARY figures have been made available recently of Imports and Exports of the Territory of Wes tern Samoa for the calendar year, 1948.
These figures show a recession from the year of 1947, which was an all-time re cord in both imports and exports. The droo was in volume of exports only as export values, during most of 1948, re mained the same as in 1947, the fall in the cocoa price occurring only toward the latter end of 1948. This drop in price will affect cocoa export figures in 1949, of course.
The following comparative figures are given for the years 1946, 1947 and 1948.
Imports for the years 1946, 1947 and 1948, were £478,695, £923,773 and £956,723 thus the Territory had favourable trade balances in 1946 and 1947, but in 1948 imports exceeded exports by £48,568.
Actually the 1948 cocoa crop was ap proximately of the same volume as the 1947 crop, but the drop in actual exports was due to a heavy carry-over in Apia sheds on December 31, 1948, of over 1,000 tons of cocoa beans. Copra on hand in
Apia sheds at the same date was 1,399 tons.
AT the present time there is a heavy accumulation of copra in Apia sheds of approximately 4,000 tons, of which only 900 tons are to be shipped by the SS “Shirrahbank” end of April. It is hoped that more transport will be made available shortly to relieve the conges tion.
Western Samoa is suffering from a trade depression due to the drop in cocoa price—plus the fact that this season’s cocoa crop is small because of adverse weather conditions. Reduction of the purchasing power of the public has re sulted in keener competition in business — many new stores and trading stations in Apia and the outside districts on the islands of Upolu and Savaii opened up during the peak year of 1948, and are now finding the going hard. Some of the Apia firms are carrying heavy stocks of food stuffs and drapery and have to reduce prices and hold sales in order to avoid heavy losses, as prices of American and
English goods come down. Property values are also on the down grade.
Government revenue is bound to suffer from the drop in imports and exports and it seems unlikely that there will be a re petition of the heavy budget surpluses of the last few years. This, in turn, will mean some re-orientation of the Ter ritory’s public works and development plan.
Mr. S. Bennett, who is at the head of Etablissements Donald, Tahiti, was in Sydney at the end of March, on his way home from Singapore, where he purchased a handy type of modem motor-vessel for the Tahiti-Cook Islands trade. The ves sel will arrive soon in Auckland, where she will undergo extensive fitting before proceeding to Papeete. Mr. Bennett will remain in Auckland for the present.
Cocoa Copra Value £ Value £ 1946 207,109 340,669 1947 448,794 722,272 1948 312,921 440.530
Desiccated Bananas Coconut Other Total Value £ Value £ Value £ Value £ 86,421 50,462 34,389 719,050 70,317 79,249 31,138 1,351,770 69,004 71,316 14,384 908,155
The 40 ft. Canadian yacht, “Escapee,” arrived at Nuku’alofa at the end of March from Suva with its owner, Mr. P.
H. G. Brock and two companions, Messrs.
J. Wells and R. Fortune, on board. The
party will spend some time in Tongan waters before resuming their return voyage to Vancouver, the yacht’s home port, by way of Rarotonga, Tahiti and Honolulu.