Copra Price

Australia Defeats the 10 per cent. Move

Rack To 1953 Rates

Copra producers in British South Pacific Islands territories will, in 1955, get a price £sstg. lower than in 1954 —but about £2stg. higher than the MOF was offering in January.

ALTHOUGH an official announce ment from Canberra was still lacking on February 9 (it was officially confirmed late on Feb ruary 14), it was generally known in Sydney on that day that the new MOF copra contract price, for British South Pacific countries in 1955, will be based on £65 Stg. per ton f.o.b. Island ports—which is equal to a reduction ,of over 7 per cent, on the 1954 basic price of £7O Stg. f.o.b.

Copra interests, in December, ex pected a 10 per cent, reduction — Fiji and Solomons actually an nounced provisional new prices based on that assumption.

But Australia, during January, fought against the British attempt to get down to about £63 Stg. (down by 10 per cent) and urged in stead a reduction of lh per cent. £64/15/0. Finally, London agreed to make it round figures—i.e., £65 Stg., which was the 1953 price.

Canberra announced on Feb. 14 that the new prices to producers at main P-NG ports, as from January 1, would be:

Fiji Official Price

The Fiji Copra Board announced at the end of January that it had agreed to a reduction of about 7 per cent, in the MOF contract price of Copra for 1955. The MOF price to the Board for 1955 is £65 Stg. f.o.b.—which is £2 per ton better than the MOF offer at the end of December. Rates to growers at Suva and Levuka:

On gradings to below 45 pts. (fixed by moisture content) the price per ton ranges down to £59/15/-.

J Mr. W. J. Lahore, who has been Manager of the Suva Branch of the ANZ Bank since it was opened in 1951, is leaving Fiji in April on transfer to Brisbane.

At P-Ng

Ex-ship Ports —£A Sydney Hot air .. . . 69/15/0 .. .. 90/10/0

Fms

. 69/0/0 .. .. 90/10/0 Smoked .. . . 66/5/0 .. .. 89/10/0 See article on page 21.

Per ton, Plantation grade (60 pts. £F and over) 63 5 6 FMS grade (57*-45 pts.) 63 0 0