[?]ends Dollars

[?]ench Oceania [?]ends Dollars Does Not Earn

ENCH Oceania’s unfavourable rade balance —particularly with he United States —has been lasised by recent release of es. For the Bth year in suc m, the Colony failed to balance 'ade. e of the most surprising aspects e situation is the fact that the currency United States supplies )ulk of the French possession’s rts and takes very little in ex ge—224 million francs worth tit and only 22 million francs i sold. mce was French Oceania’s best tner, followed by Japan (mostly ihate from Makatea) and Ger -7 (31 million francs worth of er-of-pearl and 3 million francs 1 of vanilla). nerally, 1955 was a bad year >ceania. The tonnage of copra ased by 400 tons to 21,900 lc tons, but the overall value >y 42 million francs. Phosphate •ts were lower by 2,000 tons 2 million francs, and vanilla less by 7 tons and 42 million s, the price of this latter com iy declining heavily, ther-of-pearl shell exports de ed by 15 tons, but the overall of this item was greater by illion francs. 3re has been an adverse though y fluctuating Fr. Oceania balance ever since 1949, the est deficit being 312 million s in 1952, and the least, 48 >n francs in 1954.