The M.O.P. Industry

Second of Two Articles on the Pacific Shell Industry,

by JPS.

AST month’s article was a j general discussion of the Trochus Shell industry. This tide reviews the Mother-of-Pearl /IOP) shell situation and matters fecting the shell industry in meral.

The only important MOP grounds the South Pacific are the lamotu atolls of French Oceania id the Northern Cook Islands oils of Manihiki and Penrhyn. ’ter Australia, they came res ctively second and third in order world MOP production during 50.

Together, these islands produced ell equal to rather more an half the Australian output of 100 tons in that year; and, of e 20 countries supplying the nerican market, they contributed . important part of the 2,600 as total.

The importance of the MOP dustry to these Pacific Terri fies is indicated by the fact that 1950 French Oceania received payment $342,000 and the Cook ands $215,000. Repeat, dollars! tell is now the Cook Islands’ most portant export, and the source over half the annual income of b entire Group.

Comparison of the production d proceeds from the various ell-fishing areas from year to ar is complicated by differences the “pearling year”, the financial ar, and fluctuations in exchange bes through the years. This cessitates a careful investigation published statistics; but figures r en here are a fair indication for iO.

The Islands fisheries produce ly black-lip shell with the ssible exception of small quan- Les of gold-lip from the amotus—but American statistics ■ 1950 show that the average ce paid for Tuamotu black-lip s only about 2 cents per lb ow the 41.5 cents paid for Aus ■lian white shell. Manihiki shell s 3 cents below the Tuamotu ce.

Both fisheries are now using a nbination of skin and dress ing, though the latter has. post r, only been reintroduced to the Dk Islands in the past three irs. ?he most notable feature of the Dks fisheries is the enormous in ase in post-war output and the itive unimportance now of the ;e famous Penrhyn lagoon of rs gone by famous for its iris, however, rather than for its put of shell. In 1950 Penrhyn 'duced only 20 tons of shell—

its highest output since the war— as compared with 228 tons from Manihiki.

For the five years ending 1950 Manihiki has produced 10, 63, 89, 174 and 228 tons respectively.

Prices realised for Cook Islands shell, as published in the official Annual Report, are evidently the nett returns to the producers, for they are clearly well below the f.o.b. prices paid by American buyers. As with the Tuamotu shell,

almost the entire output goes to the American market.

Tuamotu shell output for the five years ending 1950 was 915, 505, 356, 685 and 483 tons respectively, and the average prices in Pacific Francs were respectively 303,000; 331,000; 302,000; 387,000; and 410,000 per ton; but the rate of exchange be

tween dollar and franc vari< during that period so the figur are misleading. Dollar prices pa are not known. However, shell probably French Oceania’s mo important dollar-earner to-day.

PACIFIC shell producers and t] Administrations of the U areas concerned are interest* in the future of this valuable i; dustry, for all the evidence seer to indicate that the market has nc reached its peak and that a pri decline is inevitable, especia] with other than white shell.

Principal factors controlling t! outlook to-day are probably order of importance the r entry of Japan, plastics, and t success or otherwise of resear into new uses for shell.

Since the war, Japan has been buyer of shell, though not a ve important one. With the ratific tion of the Japanese Peace Trea it is almost certain that Japan vt not only be able to supply frc other Pacific waters her own co siderable needs much of whi go to her button export trade—fc will probably very soon be in position to offer shell on the woi market in a big way.

Even supposing that ways a found of preventing Japan frc cutting prices by her cheap productive methods, the fact of i creased world output will inevital react unfavourably on prices present paid to producers, America, the principal importer.

THOUGH we are primarily co cerned with the Islands, it worth mentioning here tt most Australian shell produc( are perturbed at the outlook. Th are mainly agreed that Japanc divers, if not physically, £ certainly temperamentally betl suited to deep diving, and t general conditions associated wi tne pearling industry, than a other people.

Many of the Japanese div< who were the mainstay of t Australian industry pre-war, £ eager to return —and many of t independent employers are ea£ to have them back. Independe boat operators, who fish about h: of the MOP output from Tor] Strait, point to the steady decli in output in the three post-v fishing seasons. Diving was e£ at first, but now the divers £ having to go deeper and furtl afield for the good shell.

The Queensland RSL has c dared itself utterly opposed to i admitting the Japanese. One ve good reason is that 700 Tor] Strait Islands ex-servicemen ha been rehabilitated into the shell i dustry with their own boa Pearling is one of the few occ pations open to the Torres Str islanders. These men are

?sent earning about double the sic wage by operating their own its in a co-operative scheme of ; Islands Industries Board. )ther independent boat owners 0 employ labour declare, how ir, that unless the Japanese are admitted—under the necessary eguards—there will soon be no irling industry in the Torres ait area. They say: “Why not :e advantage of the skilled )anese labour available. Only a adred or two men are involved, 1 their exploitation could give enormous boost to Australian ill output and its valuable dollar ome.” ?hey point out that, unless ise same Japanese are re nitted, they will very soon be flying their skill in Japanese sels. lost of the best Australian irling grounds are outside the lile limit; and, although a Bill ; just been introduced at Can ra which seems to have the ob t of extending Australia’s con l over certain waters to the -fathoms line, the Japanese will doubt contest this right in an ernational Court after ratifica i of the Peace Treaty, n any case, there are other as where Japan can obtain ie supplies of black-lip and 1-lip shell, if not the better ite Australian shell.

The Japanese standard of shell grading was always very favourably regarded by American importers; and it is certain that, whatever in fluence Japanese fishing has upon Australia, it is sure to affect seriously the Pacific Islands shell market in the near future.

PLASTICS appear to be a rapidly increasing and serious com petitor of the shell trade in general. According to American im porters. 95 per cent, of all shell en tering the States is applied to the button trade —the other 5 per cent, to purely luxury lines, jewellery, etc. (Continued on page 74)

Some producers declare that the cost of shell buttons on any gar ment is an insignificant part of the total cost, and that therefore the shell, with its admittedly unique properties and advantages, will al ways be favoured so long as its price approaches that of plastics.

On the other hand, people in the American garment trade— the con sumers—consider that some of the latest plastics fall little short ol shell buttons in appearance and re sistance to boiling, etc. They con sider that, as half of all shell im ported is used on men’s shirt but tons, and as the average man ii less concerned about the kind oi buttons used than the initial cosl of the garment, the special advan tages of shell are of little real im portance.

The remaining buttons are foi women’s wear—an (extremely un stable and fickle market, governec by the fashions of the moment Only when large white buttons an in vogue does shell really come tc the fore, though other fancy market buttons may cause similar fluctua tions in the trochus and green snail market.

The outstanding point here 'v that plastics are definitely becom ing better and cheaper.

FACED with this, it would seen that the only real hope foi the shell trade survival is the discovery of some important nev uses to which the shell can be applied. Research along these linei has been recommended to the Aus tralian pearling industry, but ii appears that, if any such investi gations have been carried out at all nothing significant has eventuate( so far.

An alternative, though compara tively unimportant, use for MOP, if the manufacture of compass card: for the little military, pocket pris matic compass. Shell is ideal foi this purpose, and the Australia!

Army actually operated pearling vessels to obtain supplies during th( war years.

Also recommended has been the introduction of a pool system—intc which all proceeds should be paid In good seasons, only a portion ol the income would be released, anc in bad seasons the surplus would be released to the producers.

Had such a system been intro duced in the Islands five years ag( there may have been something tc it. Now it* may be too late.

IT is worth noting that the aver age price of Australian MDI from 1900 to 1944 was £l5O pel ton—and Australian shell general!} brought the highest price on the American Market.

Although the price fixed for the 1952 season in Australia is £B5O c.i.x New York (about £7OO at T. 1.) foi top grades, this price—£so above last season —is no doubt governed

r the considerably reduced ton ige of good Australian white shell :pected.

Next season, most people in the OP trade are agreed, a heavy ice-decline can be expected if ipan has again entered the field.

The trochus price is of course osely tied in with the world supply MOP. Last season, Australian ochus producers received as high £3O0 —one producer stated £4so— since last month’s article went print the principal American lyer has visited Australia and the ice minimum for the coming ason has been fixed at £BO f.o.b. 3w York —a heavy decline.

Many men in the trade consider iat the shell prices, though due to icline heavily, will stabilise them- Ives again, and that there will be steady market at reasonable ices for clean, well-graded, MOP, oclius and green-snail for a good any years yet. Others, less opti istic, foresee the decline’ of the dustry to a purely luxury trade comparative unimportance, unless me important new uses are found r what, after all, is only a form calcium carbonate.

Canon A, P. Jennings, of the nglican Mission, Papua returned Dogura in February after five onths recreation and sick leave in ustralia. He has been a missionary New Guinea for 30 years.