Islands Produce

(Unless otherwise stated, quotations are in Australian currency)

Copra

Papua-NG.—Production Control Board price: Main ports, Hot-air, £69/5/- per ton; FMS, £6B/5/-; Smoked. £67/17/6.

Sydney crushers pay; Plantation Hot-air, £9l/15/-; FMS. £9O/15/-; Smoked. £9O/2/6. Australia has a 9 years’ UK contract (based on £Stg.s9/15/-, 1952).

Fiji.—At Suva and Levuka, 1952: Plan tation Grade (60 points and over) £F6S/0/6 per ton; FMS (45-57y 2 points), £F64/15/-; Lower Grades £F63/10/-.

Samoa.—MOF contract is at £65 Stg. per ton Western Samoa; producers re

ceive about £lO less.

BSl.—Growers are now receiving £A63/10- per ton, delivered Honiara or £ A63/15/-, delivered Yandina under the UK’s MOF contract.

New Hebrides.—Marseilles quotation, June 3, NH shipment brought 68,000 Metrop. francs per metric ton. (£AB7/2/per long ton.) Tahiti.—Late in May, price for Papeete copra was: Dry, 7.80 Pac. frs. per kilo (£ A55/4/- per long ton); Well-dried, 8.20 Pac. frs. per kilo (£ASB/11/- per long ton).

COCOA. —Islands prices are usually based on rate for Accra cocoa (W.

Africa), quotation (from Colyer Watson Ltd., Sydney) for which on June 2 was £ 5tg.327/10/- (£ A409/7/6) c.i.f. Cont. ports.

Pacific cocoa was quoted on Sydney market in June at;— N.G.— £ A3lO-£320 per ton, ex wharf.

New Hebrides.—Marseilles in late May quoted: Superior, 335-350 M. fr. per kilo (approx. £ A432-£451 per long ton); Average, 310-320 M. fr. per kilo (approx. £A4OO-£A4I2 per long ton), in bond.

Samoa.—Sydney agents in June quoted Samoan cocoa at £S3OO (£A375) f.o.b. per ton, first grade. (Samoan currency equals Stg.) Market strengthening. .COFFEE. —Islands prices are based on Uganda Robusta, currently £A456/17/6 per ton c.i.f. Australian ports.

Papua-NG.—lst grade, 5/4 per lb. ex wharf Sydney (£597/10/- per ton).

New Caledonia. —Crop mainly exported to France. Marseilles in late May quoted: 377-380 M. fr. per kilo, ex-store (£A4B6- £A49O per long ton), RUBBER.—Australian Rubber Pool quo tation (June 4) for Papua-NG: 24Vfed stg. per lb., c.i.f., Sydney %(30 5/8d Aust.) —Papuan rubber is allowed in primage free (10 per cent, from elsewhere).

Singapore rate (used by Australian firms as basis for buying Papuan rubber), June 4; No. 1 grade RSS (sellers), spot, 82 J /£c lb., c.i.f. (31 2/3d Aust. lb.).

VANILLA BEANS.—Sydney quotation (by Victor Karp, Tulk & Co.): White Label. 18/6, Yellow, 18/6; Green, 17/6 per lb., c.i.f., Sydney.

RlCE.—Rice shipped from Sydney to Islands was fixed in October, 1951, at £75 per ton, f.0.b., White, Unpolished and Brown. (On plantation Papua-NG approx. £100). New prfce expected late June.

Desiccated Coconut. Sydney

agents quote Ceylon, 1/2 lb spot, delivered to store, Sydney. New Guinea: 2/3 lb spot, delivered in store, Sydney.

PEARL SHELL.—Prices fixed between Torres Strait producers and Otto Gerdau Co. (USA) for 1952 are: AA/A/B grades 85 cents lb. (£ABSO approx, per long ton); C. 80c. ,Ib. (£A800); D, 55c. lb. (£ A 550); E, 40c. lb. (£A400); EE, 30c. lb. (£A3oo)—all c.i.f., New York.

Cook Is.—US quotations for Manihiki blacklip are approx. £Stg.2so (£A3l2^ per long ton, f.o.b. Rarotonga; market weaker due to an accumulation of unsold shell in USA.

TROCHUS SHELL.—In company with a world-wide slackness in the industry, business in Sydney has been dull during the past few months. New Hebrides.—Re cent sales to France at approx. 2,400 Pac. fr., per ton. NG, BSl.—Sydney agents quote £9O-£95 per ton, f.a.q.

GREEN SNAIL SHELL.—Nominally £157/10/- per ton, on wharf, Sydney.

London Prices

LONDON. April 17.

Copra, c.i.f., Continental ports, ton:— New Hebrides,- Metrop. frs. nominal 64,500 Tahiti, Metrop. frs 66,000 FM Straits/DEI, May/June £59/5/- Stg.

Ceylon, FMS, nominal £64 Stg.

Philippines, (bulk) $135 US Coconut Oil, c.i.f. ton:— FM Straits (bulk) nominal.

Ceylon (bulk) no market Philippines (afloat) $lB2y 2 US Cocoa, Stg.;— Accra, May/July, 312/6 (sellers) per 50 kilos, c.i.f. Nth. Continental ports.