Canada Wants To Buy Copra

Direct From Fiji, N. Guinea

(CANADIAN Government officials are: J increasingly critical of Britain’s long term raw-materials contracts with British countries. If these countries were freed from the contracts, they say, it. would mean much bigger dollar earningsi all round.

One of the points of criticism is Southi Pacific copra which at present is bought: from all British possessions in the Southi Pacific under long-term Ministry of Foodl agreements (at about half the worldl parity price).

Canada would like to buy copra direct; from Fiji and Papua-New Guinea and selll to these countries the cars, canned fishi and other products which are not now\ available to Britishers in the Southern Hemisphere. Last year, Canada wasE forced to buy 5 million dollars worth ofl copra from the Philippines at world parity prices because the United Kingdom hade Fiji and New Guinea copra sewn up in MGF contracts.

There should be, as there once was, a natural exchange of goods between Canada, on the northern extremity of the Pacific Ocean, and the South Pacific countries. We need Canada’s manufac tured goods and Canada needs our tropical and semi-tropical nroduce. But since the wizards of Whitehall have begun dividing the world into tight little areas of hard or soft currency, the trade has withered away and the shipping routes which were established last century to carry the trade have become moribund.

The London reaction to Canada’s out snokenness was on the usual pattern. Mn Gordon-Walker, Minister for Common wealth Relations, “can see no early pros-, nect of relaxing present restrictions on trade with Canada.”

That is what Mr. Gordon-Walker thinks?

It is possible, however, that the UK will one dav have a change of government ano a change of policy although mos< governments, these days, seem imbueo: with the desire to “control.” And onu control starts a chain action that ends in a complete tangle of red tape.

At the annual meeting of the NSW 181 Footer’s League in July, a move will b»c made to sail the next world’s championshiji in Suva, Fiji, instead of in Auckland. Thr race would be sailed about the end oc May, 1952.

Mr. J. Hill, fishing master of the tunr clipper, Senibua, which returned to Fiji from Australian waters some time ago; has gone back to Sydney.