Fiji Sugar

New Eight-Year Agreement Should Give Stability to Industry

'J'ERMS of the sugar agreement made between the United Kingdom and Fiji were released in Suva on February 1. Details are as follows : — THE Fiji delegation to the Common wealth Sugar Conference in London has accepted the British Ministry of Food’s offer of an eight year agreement to buy the greater part of the sugar ex ported from the Colony.

The United Kingdom Government guarantees to pay a “reasonably remu nerative price” for all sugar exported from Fi.n in the years 1950-1952, and for up to 120,000 tons of sugar from Fiji in each of the years 1953 to 1957. The price offered for 1950 is £30/10/- sterling a ton, which is £3/5/- above the 1949 price of £27/5/— sterling In addition to the 120,000 tons which the United Kingdom Government guaran tees to buy each year from 1953 to 1957 at a previously agreed price, Fiji will be free to sell 50,000 tons in the United Kingdom and Canada at the open market price plus Imperial preference.

When making an offer to buy a total of 1,100,000 tons of sugar from all the sugar producing Colonies at a guaranteed price, the United Kingdom Government asked that total exports from 1953 to 1957 should be limited to 1,550,000 tons a year. Fiji was asked to limit her annual production for export to 170,000 tons and the Fiji delegation’s accentance of the Ministry’s offer is based oh the assump tion that if at any future date the total colonial quota is raised Fiji’s share will also be raised.

Editorial Note

ALTHOUGH some Empire sugar pro ducing countries (notably West Indies) were unhappy about the out come of the Sugar Conference in London, Fiji sugar interests should be reasonably satisfied with results.

Although Fiji has been asked to limit her exports to 170,000 tons per annum, the Colony has, in fact, never reached those figures in previous years and this restriction should therefore impose no immediate hardship.

These figures give some indication of exports in pre-war years: 1929, 72,275 tons; 1932, 131,302 tons; 1936, 140,864 tons; 1938, 134,415 tons.

In 1942, 131,294 tons of sugar were ex ported; and in 1948, 149,494 tons.

Since early in the war years, the United Kingdom Ministry of Food has been purchasing the whole of the Fiji sugar output and allocating it—mostly to other Empire countries. It is, however, interesting to compare the destination of Fiji exported sugar in 1938 with that of 1948—particularly with regard to New Zealand.

In 1938, Fiji sent 75,296 tons of sugar to the UK; 57,983 tons to Canada, 1,111 tons to New Zealand, 20 tons to Tahiti.

In 1948, 17,738 tons went to the UK; 65,476 tons to Canada, 63,746 tons to New Zealand and 1,699 tons to Tahiti.

Before the war New Zealand bought over 2/3 of its sugar requirements from the Netherlands East Indies: over 1/6 from Central and North; America and only about 1/46 from Fiii.

Since the end of 1941, firstly because the Japs invaded the NEI, and lately when the Indonesians have been more in terested in politics than production, the NEI has been out of the sugar industry.

However, unless the economy of NEI breaks down completely, it is likely that more interest in sugar production will be taken from now on, NEI sugar exports

to New Zealand alone, in 1938, were worth £500,000 to them. If this sugar producing country again becomes active it is likely that the Fiji industry will be glad of the agreement that has lately been concluded in London.

Wants Another Inquiry Into

Fiji Sugar Industry

MR. N. S. CHALMERS who has been one of the members of the Fiji Bowl ing team at the Empire Games in Auckland, is on his way to London. There he will ask for a commission to “inquire fully into the sugar industry in Fiji.”

Mr. Chalmers, a European, is the pre sident of one of the Fiji sugar unions.

He claims to represent 11,000 Indian cane growers. (Fiji had a sugar inquiry a few years ago, when Dr. C. Y. Shephard of the Im perial College of Tropical Agriculture at Trinidad spent a considerable time in the Colony. Dr. Shephard’s arrival in 1944 followed the cane fields trouble that commenced in 1943. His report was issued in July or August, 1945, and made a number of recommendations. Briefly it condemned the cane growers’ strike, showed the CSR Co. in a very favourable light and suggested a series of practical plans to improve relations between the Government, the company and the growers).