World Copra Prices Show Slight Decline

Demand Eases as Other Fats and Oils Become Available

IN step with what appears to be a world wide lowering in prices of all tropical products, copra values have declined in recent months in most of the countries where free trading in fats and oils is still conducted.

USA market prices have receded gen erally and early in April copra was quoted on the San Francisco exchange at 165 dollars (equal to £ASI/l/6) per short ton, down from 200 dollars (£A6I/18/6) a couple of months previously.

London copra market observers last month put the current decline in Philip pines prices down to a restricted demand, caused by increased offerings of other oils and fats. Philippines copra rates settled at 167.5 dollars (£ASI/11/0), f.0.b., following the sale of some 500 tons to France at 162.5 dollars (£ASO 6/6).

Because they consider the price asked for sterling area copra too high, Euro pean buyers have been holding off and, in consequence, Straits copra dropped £3 to £4 to £Stg.6B for May shipments. Taking advantage of the situation, Dutch East Indies sellers have been offering' copra in guilders at considerably under the Straits parity.

Coconut Oil Market Easier

WITH buyers somewhat reserved, the market for coconut oil has been easier lately. London sources re port that May-June shipments of Straits oil were offered at £lOB Stg. per ton, c.i.f., but Continental crushers remained aloof, anticipating the price to go lower.

Some Philippines coconut oil has been finding its way to Europe, mainly to Ger man buyers, at 310 dollars (£96 Stg.) per metric ton, c. and f.

Of all the South Seas territories, the market trend in coconut oil is of greater interest to Fiji, where this industry has shown remarkable growth since World War 11. Before 1939, coconut oil exports never amounted to more than 200 tons, worth annually a couple of thousand pounds. 'Two copra-crushing mills now are in operation in Suva, with the oil be ing exported to the United Kingdom and the residue oil cake going to New Zealand, where it is in over-demand.

The following table shows post war coconut oil exports from Fiji:—

Sydney Crushers Pay Mo^E

THE Commonwealth Government, at

the end of May, granted permission to the Australian New Guinea Con trol Board to add 10/- per ton to the prices of Papua-New Guinea copra sold to mills in Sydney. This is to cover in creased shipping freight charges. Prices to Australian crushers now stand at: Hot-air Dried, £A66/10/- and -Smoked,

Ea6S/17/6.

The ANGPCB still is marking time until the Commonwealth Government decides to implement its decision announced al most a year ago, of abolishing the Board.

Territories’ planters are continuing to de liver copra to ANGPCB depots, deceiving

Seven natives were admitted to hospi tal in Rabaul on June 1 when a truck travelling along the North Coast Road, about 10 miles from the town, struck another parked by the roadside.

a fixed price of £A4B per ton; while ANGPCB, in turn, ships the copra to Aus tralia for sale to crushers and soap manu facturers (at £A66/10/-) or sends it abroad in chartered shipping for the use of the British Ministry of Food (at a fixed price of £A60 —or£Stg.4B—under the terms of the recent nine-years’ contract).

The Future

SOME planters in Papua and New Guinea believe that the original plan of the Commonwealth Government to remould the ANGPCB will not be pro ceeded with in its entirety, but that ANQPCB will be reconstituted and re named something akin to a “Copra Board” and will proceed along similar lines as at present. This would be in line with the Socialist Federal Government’s avowed policy of keeping the big commercial firms’ interest in the profitable Islands copra trade down to a minimum.

The downward trend of the world copra market will not immediately affect plan ters in the South Pacific Islands, except those in French Territories, All others, during the past nine months, have en tered into the British Ministry of Food contract, under which they get a guaran teed price for nine years—around £4B in the first year, and no fall in the follow ing years to be more than 10 per cent, of the year preceding. This British guarantee has given remarkable security to the South Pacific copra market.

Year Amount Value tons 1945 689 £28 230 1946 1.807 74,068 1947 .. .. 6,570 440,189 1948 9,053 760,774