For Pacific Crops

Writing On The Wall?

More Realistic Pric[?] For Pacific Crops

are numerous signs tl . the sellers’ market that has bea enjoyed so long by producers of t Pacific’s basic crops, is fading awr It could be that in the next ye’ or so, the prizes will again be gol to the smartest—or the strongest.

In April, Germany was negotis mg a trade agreement with Ind: nesia, one of the clauses of whit involved the guaranteed purchss by Germany of $22 million worth copra per annum.

It is not yet known what prr has been agreed upon but the are indications that initially it in the vicinity of $173 (£A77/10/\ c.i.f. German port, deliv e r e weights. For how many years t* agreement will run is also u: known.

Another “free-market” copra d: velopment is the announcement thr a conference of interested countrir will be convened in Manila a August 3, 1955, to consider the esta'j lishment of a combine of producir. countries “on the lines of the exisß mg International Tea Union.”

The outcome of this meeting m undoubtedly be of considerable ill terest to Pacific planters.

Cocoa Substitutes In Thl

United States

In the cocoa industry an Intee national Cocoa Congress took platf in Amsterdam late in April and wn attended by producer representative from all parts of the world.

Many delegations urged tha manufacturers get together an guarantee producers “a reasonaW price” for a period of up to 25 yea* to stimulate production in new prc: ducer countries.

All delegates agreed that the onr answer to the present instability 1 supply and demand was to raii world production. All predicted i further decline in world prices dv to declining consumption.

The recent decline in world coco: consumption was believed to be tit result of a sort of chain reaction crop failures, through climatic cor:< ditions or disease in 1953-54. an consequent periodical acute short ages of supplies in the Unite; States, had stimulated manufau turers there into intensifying the 3 search for cheaper and more acceis sible substitutes.

This search was not entirely uiij successful, and is reflected in tM; figui’es for cocoa-mill grindings. Fr the second-half of 1954, grinding

down by 40 per cent.; and for irst quarter of 1955 down by * cent, on a year earlier. These s are not a true picture of the n consumption, however, bs some ground cocoa is im i, but they give a fair indication ,e effect of these substitutes f buyer-resistance to the high of cocoa and its products, a great deal is known about substitutes in Australia be so far, they are apparently being used in America, but it eved that they are of a copha e r base—a margarine-type ible oil with a natural brown ’. Naturally the exact make f the substitutes is a trade American business man in ;y in May said that it was dit to identify this “ersatz” choco- Tom the genuine article, and his observa + ions, the substi appeared to remain firmer in al temperatures than real late. the Amsterdam conference, promotion campaigns were , as were campaigns to com ocoa diseases. The next con :;e will take place in 1958. ;re have also been develop ; in the coffee industry. In da the Government plans to into force a new scale of ex taxes on coffee. At present is a tax on exports of values r than £2OO per ton. When the falls below that, no tax is pay ier the new arrangement, the vill continue until the prices >elow £9O per ton. The actual rill be fixed each month on the of the average price of coffee ted in the previous month. 3 tax is expected to encourage icers to improve the quality of coffee, because the tax will be tonnage basis and a ton of quality coffee will pay the same ,s a ton of inferior grade. An 3sting clause in the new or din provides for a partial refund e tax to non-Africans, they be he only persons who pay in -tax in Uganda, present such taxpayers receive fee tax rebate of 50 per cent, they will receive instead a flat e of £Stg.3l/8 - per ton o* sta, but 50 per cent, will still r for Arabica, and the actual chargeable on Arabica will re as at present—£Stg.l6/10/- per /hen the price is from £Stg. 201 tg.214, rising by £Stg.l for every Increase in the price realised he coffee. ewhere, Italy and Indonesia recently signed a trade agree , whereby Italy will purchase tities of Indonesian coffee. :teen Latin-American countries many other observers were to late in May in New York to o set up an international coffee cy to stabilise prices.

(Continued on Page 145)

Iubbe Sy™?C L And

WS of a better-than-e ve r ynthetic rubber (although it is iot through its teething stages was received about the same as the advice that consumption bber in the United States this is expected to be an all-time probably about 1,400,000 tons. ose who direct the rubber busi in the US do not appear to :, however, that the “present ite balance’’ between supply demand will mean soaring ;r prices; in fact, 1956 is re ;d as a year in which “straight competition is likely to pre and it is not too early for the ■al rubber industry to get ready it.” airman of the US Goodyear Co. has gone on record as say that his company will be fly happy if it can get 25 per of its requirements in natural ir. He expects synthetic rubber ke up the slack of increased nd because “it takes seven between planting and harvest if natural rubber.’’ ? implication appears to be that ;rs of natural rubber have been ult for not planting more new :r. Rubber planters, for a :y of reasons, have had very encouragement to put out ll in large-scale new plantings the least Of which has been etition from United States Ptip nihhpr , , , at a different story it would been for rubber planters had nmp plpvpv rhpmist HispnvPT’pd .0 maxe syntnetic. Altnougn it is important as a new secret Ml during the war, it has thp whnlp nihhpr nirtnrp d tne wnoie IUDDer picture