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Future of Kenaf Industry

COINCIDENT with a report front Mr. W. L. Greenhill. CSIRC Fibres Research Laboratory chief ir mid-March, that tests carried out or New Guinea-grown kenaf fibre ii America had been satisfactory, cam* a warning from the Australiai Agricultural Council.

The Council cautioned that pres; statements suggesting Australia wouh soon replace its jute imports witl locally grown fibres, were not onh misleading but could jeopardise thi Australian project.

The Council stressed that mud more work had to be done befor commercial production in Nev Guinea and Australia was proved and no private enterprise couIJ consider the heavy capital costl involved unless guaranteed by thi Government against competition from overseas. A slight increase ii production of jute overseas couIJ make any Australian project com pletely unprofitable as a busines venture.

The Council mentioned that th jute sack situation, as regards stock held in Australia, was better that it had been for some years. A goa jute crop in Pakistan had also cause some recession in the price of jut products from that main source.

The Indian Government bat allocated 120,000 tons of jute tr Australia for the current year and was anticipated that, due to a poo wheat harvest, probably only 100,0 G tons would actually be used, tH remainder being held in stock. (TH Pakistan raw jute is processed i India).

Some Sydney jute merchants sau the fixed price for jute sacks soo should show a substantial fall I Australia despite probability ♦ import restrictions reducing preset stocks.

On the “kenaf front” Mr. Gree; hill (CSIRO) reported that his Nea Guinea visit assisted him to considl the most economic methods * production and processing, invest; gate mechanical decortication of tIJ fibre rather than retting (separatio of the fibres by long immersionn and make a general inspection of th kenaf and Manila plantings near L. and Rabaul.

Also during March the first shiij ment of Kenaf fibre —two balL weighing in all 400 lb—from Bubl (Markham Valley) left for the D

artment of Territories, Sydney robably to be experimentally woven i Australia. Valued at 3/5d per ). its production cost is said to be omparable with world kenaf prices.

Whatever happens regarding akistan-India jute, indications are lat the Australian Government in :nds pushing ahead with local fibre evelopmental work, which it con ders to be of strategic importance.

Mr. A. J. Gaskin, one of Rabaul’s sst-known businessmen, has disposed f most of his interests in New uinea and, for health reasons, will i future live in Australia. He re ins his interest in the Cosmopolitan otel, Rabaul, but this well-known itablishment has been leased to Mr. orman Lee for 10 years. Mr. Gas n went to the Territory in the early )’s as a member of the Common ealth Public Service. He later re aped to go into business on his own xount. He was a veteran of the irst World War and an enthusias : member of the RSSAILA. Dur g the Pacific War he temporarily ent back to the Commonwealth ;rvice and as an official of the srritories Department was able to sist many Territorians during a ost harassing period of their ex :ence.

The growing of fibres offered a mar vellous opportunity for developing the national resources of New Guinea, Mr. J. M. Dempsey said in New York in March. He has just re turned from making a survey in Papua and New Guinea at the re quest of the Australian Government.

He spent two months studying ex isting plantings, principally about Port Moresby, Madang, Dylup, Lae and Rabaul.

Mr. Dempsey said NG Kenaf fibre has been sent by air to the US and spun into excellent jute-type yam. He believed fibre development in New Guinea would be substan tial.