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-February was £290 Stg., c.i.f. (equivalent to £362/10/- Aust.).

Quotation supplied by Colyer Watson Ltd., Sydney.

Pacific cocoa beans were quoted (sellers) nominally on the Sydney market in February at New Guinea: £325 Aust. per ton, ex wharf.

New Hebrides: £330 Aust. per ton, ex wharf.

W. Samoa: Sydney agents reported in February that Samoan cocoa had recovered slightly from recent price-falls—it now is £290 Samoan (£A362/10/-) per ton. (Samoan cur rency equals Sterling.)

Trochus Shell

Nominal Sydney quotations early in February were: Thursday Is., £220 per ton, f.0.b.; New Guinea. £235 per ton, c.i.f., Sydney; Solomon Is., £240; Fiji, £F9O (£AIOI/14/-) per long ton on the beach at Suva; New Caledonia, approxi mately 14,000 francs per ton, Noumea. Although prices rose during the month, agents reported that the market in mid-February “showed a tendency to weaken.’’

Coffee

Nominal quotations are;— New Caledonia: Production exported to France at above normal rates (equivalent to £A4SO per ton for Arabica. £A4OO for Robustat.

New Guinea and Papua: Nominally £375 to £425 per ton (c.i.f.), according to quality.

Vanilla Beans

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

Recent price lor Tahiti beans quoted in Syd ney (by J. C. Merrillees Pty.. Ltd.) was; White Label, 12/6 per lb., c.i.f, Sydney.

Rice

Price of rice shipped from Sydney to Islands ports is fixed at: £5O per ton White and £54 per ton Brown. The price comes up for revision on May 1, 1951.

Green Snail Shell

A nominal quotation in Sydney in February was at £l5O 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 nxed in 1949 (for three years) at: Sound grades, £A325 per ton, f.0.b., TI; “D’’ grade. £A225; “E” grade, £Al2s—all plus bonuses.

The 1950 Torres Strait pearling season re opened in May. Purchase price for the independent pearlers’ output, after negotiation with overseas buyers, was finally set at approxi mately: £ 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 ner own needs, and the above prices come up for review in March—they are expected to rise by around £5.

Fiji.—From January i, i 951: £55/5/- Fijiann per ton, FMS (1950: £FS3/14/3 per ton). Fijiit has a 9 years’ contract with UK Ministry ofb Food for all copra exported.

New Hebrides.—Price at Vila and Santo Isb £95 Aust. per ton.

Western Samoa.—Producers in 1950 receivedb £45 Samoan (par with Sterling) per ton, ofb which £3 was held for a Stabilisation Fundjl under a 10 years’ contract with the UK Food) Ministry.

Solomon Is.: Producers receive £ASI per ton,x f.0.b., for copra shipped from Honiara or Yan-j dina ports (based on £53/15/- Stg. MOF price) i( Fr. Oceania.— Papeete merchants recently have paid 9,350 Pacific francs per 1,000 kilos fon Tahiti copra.

Rubber

Sydney trading firms use the London and Singapore day-to-day quotations as a basis when buying Papuan rubber. Overseas prices in early February topped the record November, 1950 C levels. The rate on February 12 for No. 1 grade!

RSS (sellers) was: Spot: Nominally 68d. Stgj per lb., c.i.f., London (equivalent to 85d. Austi per lb.); Singapore, RMA No. 1 (sellers) 22‘i cents per lb., f.o.b.