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 (45-57 V 2 points), £P64/15/-; Lower Grades £F63/10/-.

Samoa. —MOP contract is at £65 Stg.

per ton Western Samoa; producers re ceive about £lO less.

BSI. —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.

July 1, NH shipment brought 69,000 Metrop. francs per metric ton. (£AB9 per long ton.) Tahiti.—Early in June, price for Papeete copra was; Dry, 7.80 Pac. frs. per kilo (£ A55/4/- per long ton); Super dry, 8.20 Pac. frs. per kilo (£ASB/11/- per long ton).

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

Africa), quotation (from Colyer Watson Ltd., Sydney) for which on June 20 was £ Stg.3lo (£ A387/10/-) c.i.f. Cont. ports.

Pacific cocoa was quoted in July at: — N.G.— £ A 290 approx, per ton, ex wharf, Sydney.

New Hebrides.—Marseilles in late June quoted: Superior, 295-310 M. fr. per kilo (approx. £ A3Bl-£ A4OO per long ton); Average, 260-270 M. fr. per kilo (approx. £A336-£A34B per long ton), in bond.

Samoa.—Sydney agents in July quoted Samoan cocoa at £S3IO (£A3B7/10/- f.o.b. per ton, first grade. (Samoan currency equals Stg.) Market strengthening.

COFFEE.—lslands prices are based on Uganda Arabica, currently £AS6O 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 June quoted: 376-378 M. fr. per kilo, ex-store (£A4BS - per long ton).

RUBBER.—Australian Rubber Pool quo tation (July 4) for Papua-NG: 24 7/16d stg. per lb., c.i.f., Sydney (30 11/16d 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), July 4: No. 1 grade RSS (sellers), spot, 88c. lb., c.i.f. (33 7/9d 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 price expected late July.

Desiccated Coconut. Sydney

agents quote Ceylon, 1/2y 2 lb. spot, de livered 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. rib. (£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. 31.5 cents per lb. (£A3IS 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 £95-£lOO per ton, f.a.q.

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

London Prices

London, May 15.

Copra, c.i.f., Continental ports, ton:— New Hebrides, Metrop. frs 68,000 Tahiti, Metrop. frs. nominal . .. 69,000 PM Straits/DEI, June/July .. £63 Stg.

Ceylon, PMS £74 Stg.

Philippines, (bulk) June/July $137y 2 US Coconut Oil, c.i.f. ton:— PM Straits (bulk) £92 Stg.

Ceylon (bulk) June/July .. .. £B7 Stg.

Philippines (afloat) June/July . $lB7 US Cocoa, Stg.:— Accra, June/Aug. 337/6 (sellers) per 50 kilos, c.i.f. Nth. Continental ports.