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 (£56). Sydney crushers pay: Plantation Hot-air, £76; F.M.S. £75; Smoked, £74/7/6. Australia has 9 years’ con tract with UK, based on £53/15/- Stg.

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-£PS3, other. Fiji has 9 years’ con tract with UK Pood Ministry.

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

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

New Hebrides.—London quotation gives 100,000 Metropolitan francs (approx. £129 Aust.) per 1,000 kilos, delivered weights, c.i.f., Cont. ports.

Tahiti.—London quotation: 101,500 Metrop. fr. (approx. £l3l Aust.) per 1,000 kilos, d.w., c.i.f., Cont. ports,

Cocoa

Islands prices are usually based on rate for Accra cocoa (W. Africa), quotation (from Colyer Watson Ltd., Sydney) for which on December 5 was £Stg.23o (£ A287/10/-) c.i.f.

Pacific cocoa was quoted nominally on Sydney market in December at:— New Guinea.— £A2BO per ton, ex wharf.

New Hebrides—Nominally £A2BO.

Samoa.—Sydney agents in December quoted Samoan cocoa at £S2IS (£ A268/15/-) f.o.b. per ton, first-grade. (Samoan currency 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.

Dec, 7: No. 1 grade, RSS (sellers) Spot 41%d. Stg. lb., c.i.f., London (54-3/16d.

Aust. lb.); Singapore, RSS No. 1, 140 cents lb., f.o.b.

Vanilla Beans

Sydney quotation (by Victor Karp, Tulk & Co.): White Label, 18/9; Yellow Label, 18/9; Green Label. 17/6 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 still Unsettled and confused—most agents state they are not interested in buying

until prices firm. Western Pacific she price was quoted in December at apprp; £l4O per ton on wharf, Sydney.

Green Snail Shell

Nominal quotation is at £165-£l7O pi ton, on wharf, Sydney.

Pearl Shell

By a contract between Gerdau C (USA) and majority of Torres pearler TI shell prices were fixed, 1949-52, a Sound grades, £A325 per ton, f.0.b., T “D” grade, £A225; “E” grade, all plus bonuses. The free market prl< is around £A7OO for Sound grades.