Fiji’S Coconut Oil

Oil-Crushers Get the Same Raw Deal as Copra Producers

THERE was an article in the May issue of the PIM, headed “Fiji Copra Being Milled in Fiji.” Herein, these sentences occurred;— “The Suva Mills receive copra at ap proximately the same price as is paid under the MOF contract—which is at least £5O per ton under world parity. If the products of the Suva mills are being sold on the world markets, the Suva millers obviously are enjoying a big advantage over millers in countries which pay more than £lOO ner ton for copra.”

It has been pointed out to us that this may give a totally wrong impression. The writer of the article apparently was think ing of the Fiji mill’s excellent new pro duct, margarine. But little of this mar garine goes outside Fiji; and the chief products of the mill are coconut and meal.

The prices paid by the British Ministry of Food for Fiji’s coconut oil and meal are directly related to the price paid by the MOF for Fiji copra. All the oil and meal produced in Fiji by local millers must go to the British Ministry of Food; and the MOF pays the millers a price based on the MOF copra price—which is about half world parity. (See article else where in this issue.) The price received by the Fiji millers for their coconut oil is very much less than the nrice received for coconut oil, for example, by Ceylon. When Britain de valued her currency, and then proposed to continue to pay Ceylon under the MOF contract in the de-valued Sterling. Ceylon promptly refused to go on with the con tract. As a result, Ceylon now is receiving in the world market £4O or £5O per ton more for her coconut oil than the Fiji millers are getting.