Islands Produce

< Unless otherwise stated, quotations are in Australian currency)

Copra

Papua-NG.—Production Control Board price: Main ports, Hot-air, £57 per ton (Kokopo, £55/12/6); Smoked, £56/7/6 (£55). Sydney crushers pay: Hot-air, £74/15/-; Smoked, £74/2/6. Australia has 9 years’ contract with UK, based on £53/15/- Stg. ton.

Fiji.— £FS9/10/7 per ton, f.0.b., Suva— producers get £FS4/10/6 ton, plantation grade, Suva or Levuka; £FS4/5/-. FMS; £FSI- £ 53, other. Fiji has 9 years’ con tract with UK Pood Ministry.

New Hebrides.—At Vila and Santo: approx, £ABO per ton.

Samoa. —Producers receive £S4S/11/- (par with Stg.) per ton, f.0.b., Apia based on MOP rate of £ Stg.s3/19/- (less £SS/7/ll Duty, £S3/0/l Stabilisation).

BSI. —Growers get £ASI per ton, f.0.b., Honiara or Yandina (based on £Stg.s3/15/- MOP price).

Tahiti.—Merchants pay 14,900 Pacific fr. per 1,000 kilos (about £AIO6 per ton).

Cocoa

Islands prices are usually based on rate for Accra cocoa (W. Africa), quotation (from Colyer Watson Ltd., Sydney) for which on October 3 was £Stg. £252/10/- (£ A315/12/6) c.i.f.

Pacific cocoa was quoted nominally on Sydney market in October at: — New Guinea.—£A3os per ton, ex wharf.

New Hebrides. —Nominally £A3I0 —supplies unavailable in Sydney at present.

Samoa. —Sydney agents in October quoted Samoan cocoa at £S26O (£A325) f.o.b. per ton. first-grade. (Samoan cur rency equals Stg.)

Coffee

New Caledonia. —Production exported to France at nominal equivalent of £A4SO per ton. Arabica; £A4OO, Robusta.

Papua-NG.—Nominally £375 to £425 per ton (c.i.f.), according to quality.

Rubber

Sydney firms use London and Singapore rates as basis to buy Papuan rubber.

Oct. 8: No. 1 grade. RSS (sellers) Spot 46d Stg. lb., c.i.f., London (57V2d. Aust. lb.); Singapore, RSS No. 1, 156y 2 cents lb., f.o.b.

Vanilla Beans

Papeete merchants recently quoted 325 Pacific francs per kilo for Tahiti vanilla beans. Sydney quotation; White Label, 18/-. Yellow Label. 18/-, Green Label, 16/8 per lb., c.i.f., Sydney.

Rice

Rice shipped from Sydney to Islands was fixed in May at £6O per ton, f.0.b., White, Unpolished and Brown. (On plan tation in Papua-N.G., approx. £85.)

Trochus Shell

Market for trochus shell in Sydney is unsettled at present—most agents are not interested in buying until prices firm. It

was reported recently that, because of 3 labour shortage, Sydney importers weres insisting that shell be sorted before ship- ment; the Western Pacific shell price was e quoted at approx. £175 per ton on wharf,, Sydney.

Green Snail Shell

Nominal quotation is at £l5O-£l6O pen ton, on wharf, Sydney.

Pearl Shell

By a contract between Gerdau Co-c (USA) and majority of Torres pearlers,.< TI shell prices were fixed, 1949-52, at:j, Sound grades, £A325 per ton, f.0.b., TT* “D” grade, £A225; “E” grade. £AI25 — all plus bonuses. Independent pearlers' are selling at around £ASBO for Sound) grades; £A465, “D” grades; £A34O, “E’" grades.