Islands Produce

(Unless otherwise stated, quotations are in Australian currency)

Cocoa

ISLANDS cocoa prices are usually based on the ruling rate for Accra cocoa (West Africa), quotation for which in mid-September was £337/10/- Stg.. c.i.f. (equivalent to £421/17/6 Aust.) for new main crop, October-December shipments. Quotation supplied by Colyer, Watson Pty.. Ltd., Sydney.

Pacific cocoa beans were quoted nominally on the Sydney market in September at;— New Guinea: Over £3lO per ton, ex wharf.

New Hebrides: Over £315 per ton, ex wharf.

W. Samoa: A further rise during the month took the price of cocoa to £3OO Samoan (£A375) per ton, f.0.b., Apia. (Samoan currency equals Sterling.)

Trochus Shell

Nominal Sydney quotations in September were: Thursday Is., £llO per ton, f.0.b.; N. Guinea. £lOO per ton. c.i.f., Sydney; Solomon Is., £105; Fiji. £F7O (£ A76/7/3) per long ton on the beach at Suva; New Caledonia, 14,000 francs per ton, Noumea.

A Thursday Island firm recently offered £l2O per ton for trochus.

Coffee

Nominal quotations are:— New Caledonia: Production exported to France at above normal rates (equivalent to £A4OO, per ton for Arabica, £A3SO for Robusta).

New Guinea and Papua: Nominally £350 to £370 per ton (c.i.f.), according to quality.

Vanilla Beans

Papeete merchants quote 325 francs per kilo for French Oceania vanilla beans.

Prices for Tahiti beans quoted in Sydney (by J. C. Merrillees Pty., Ltd.) are White Label, 16/6 per lb., Yellow Label, 15/6 per lb., both c.i.f., Sydney.

Rice

Rice shipped from Sydney to Islands ports has been price-fixed at: New season’s crop, £5O per ton White and £54 per ton Brown.

Green Snail Shell

A nominal quotation in Sydney in September was at £B5 per ton, c.i.f., for f.a.q. shell.

Pearl Shell

By a term contract between the Otto Gerdau Company (USA) and the majority of Torres Strait pearlers, TI shell prices were fixed in 1949 (for three years) at: Sound grades, £A325 per ton. f.0.b., TI; “D” grade, £A225; “E'’ grade, £AI25 —all prices to be plus bonuses.

Torres Strait pearling season re-opened in April-May. Purchase price for the independent pearlers’ 1950 output, after negotiation with over seas buyers, was finally set at approximately; £ A5BO per ton for Sound grades, £A465 for "D” grades and £A34O for “E” grades.

Copra

Papua - New Guinea. Production Control Board’s fixed price, delivered to ship’s slings or ANGPCB warehouses, as from May, 1950: At main ports, Hot-air Dried, £4B/10/- per ton; Smoked. £47/17/6 (subject to premium up to £l/5/- for superior grades).. Official price (as from May, 1950) for Papua-New Guinea copra sold in Sydney to crushers: Hot-air Dried, £67/15/-; Smoked, £67/2/6. Australia has a 9 years’ contract with Britain for the disposal of all Territories’ copra surplus to her own needs.

Fiji.—From January 1. 1950: £53/14/3 Fijian

per ton, FM6 (UK Ministry of Food price).

Fiji has a 9 years’ contract with the British MOF for all copra exported.

New Hebrides,—Price at Vila and Santo: £52 Aust. per ton.

Western Samoa.—Producers receive £4J Samoan per ton (£3 held for Stabilisation Fund) under a 10 years’ contract with the UK Food Ministry.

Fr. Oceania.—Papeete merchants have beer paying 9,350 Pacific francs per 1,000 kilos foi Tahiti copra.

Rubber

Sydney trading firms use the London anc Singapore day-to-day quotations as a basis wher buying Papuan rubber. An average rate (sellers) during September for No. 1 grade RSS was: 47y 2 d. Stg. per lb., c.i.f., London; 149 cents, fob.. Singapore; equivalent to 59%d. Aust per lb.