Pacific Shell Continues To

[?]o Gloom in the Shell Trade

[?]Utton The World's Best Shirts

N post-war years the export of I marine shells, trochus and mother-of-pearl, has become an dustry of increasing importance \ most South Pacific territories.

Many fishermen are engaged full me in this work, but a substantial apportion of the shell is fished by en engaged also in the copra in tstry, labour being diverted to \hing especially during the rainy ason when conditions hamper pra production.

Some planters are probably mak g as much from trochus as from ;ypr a in the New Hebrides ilomons-Trust Territory of New uinea islands areas.

Ever since the war, the purchasers [ marine shells and those most ysely associated with the button mufacturers —who absorb probably I per cent, of the Pacific shell pro iction—have constantly warned at the sellers’ market must in itably collapse if prices continue [rise. Yet prices have continued \ go on up and, throughout 1956, it is continued to be a sellers’ market.

One New York shell buyer and Oker who has been very much ncerned with Pacific shell during \ese years is Mr. Paul A. Rie. He i als directly with the button manu 'cturers and is naturally very much ncerned with market trends and

puirements.

His comments, made in December, 56, should be of considerable terest to producers, and we quote part from a long and interest g letter replying to various specific lestions: r must be admitted that, price wise, the producers of MOP shell, whether black-edged or bite, have had nothing to com ain of during the post-war years. du are quite correct in your iservation that buyers are forever ising the spectre of synthetics to ireaten the producers with early tonction —and yet, there seems to ; an unending demand for the muine MOP shells at steadily ad

ducing prices.

I wish I could give a clear-cut nsible explanation of the apparent iradox —but even though I spend y entire business life in the anosphere of the MOP shell and Jarl button trade, I cannot supply ! wholly satisfactory explanation r en to myself.

There are a number of factors lat bear upon the case, each of hich contributes something to the tuation. I shall try to summarise lem, but I caution you in advance

that they are only the expression of my personal opinion and observa tion, which may easily differ from those of other qualified specialists.

There is no doubt that synthetics have proved themselves a keen competitor. (How keen, is seen by three sample buttons sent by Mr.

Rie. The difference in appearance is only evident on close examination.

In size they are each 18 “lignes,” or fortieths of an inch, in diameter.

The “per gross” wholesale price of

the genuine MOP button is $2.00, the Polyester button price is $0.70, and the Acrylic button price $0.45.) The acrylics, the cheapest, are not completely heat-resistant, inasmuch as they tend to stick to a hot iron when the garment is pressed, and this is, of course, a deterrent factor for manufacturers of better grade garments. However, their competitive price-appeal is such that they find an excellent market among makers of cheaper clothing. The polyester type of material which contains some ad mixture of fish-scale essence, gives a very satisfactory imitation of MOP shell, and has the advantage of being totally heat resistant. You will note that its price is still con siderably lower than the MOP price.

One redeeming feature of the

Ituation is that, so far, no synthetic applies a satisfactory substitute for he pearly appearance of genuine lOP shell buttons in sizes above 30 igne (i-in.) diameter, and no ynthetic supplies a wholly adequate nutation of the true black-edged lOP shell button. This feature ccounts entirely for the way in rtiich the black-edged MOP shell aarket has maintained itself at uch high levels in recent years, ided and abetted by the essentially nportant factor that the fashion w certain types of women’s coats nd suits in Europe and USA has tnphasised the trim tailored look, rhich is especially complemented y the use of black or grey pearl uttons in the larger sizes where jrnthetics cannot interfere.

We have noticed over several ears the popularity among women, articularly business women and tudents, of the camel-hair coat (or quivalent), sometimes referred to s polo coat, usually cut on a ouble-breasted pattern, and carry ig six or eight large smoky buttons f approximately 60 ligne diameter, his style alone, considering the r orld-wide demand, has been irgely responsible for the strong emand for Tahiti (Tuamotu) MOP, nd even though Manihiki MOP is sss well suited to the large size of I ligne (being too small and thin 'or efficient use in this size) it has

enjoyed an almost parallel demand through the overflow of buyers’ needs in other sizes of black buttons. it is hard to guess how long this situation will endure. When I was in Papeete in April, 1955, I found that USA buyers were completely shut out of the market by the enthusiastic demands from Europe . . . with prices in the vicinity of £Stgs6o per ton. While there I witnessed a flood of cables from Europe, which drove the price approximately 20 per cent, higher in a very short time—by small lots of 5 to 10 tons, each of which was eagerly bid for by German, French, and Italian buyers.

During the early part of 1956, when the Hikueru (Tuamotu), season opened, prices attained record heights—probably in excess of £Stg.ll2o. Since then the market there has simmered down by about 20 per cent., but there are currently (December 3) no available supplies, and it’s anybody’s guess what the price will be when the new season opens early in 1957.

The white shell price situation cannot be explained so readily, and, in total value of the respective productions, it represents a far greater sum than the combined values of the Tahiti and Cook Islands black shell production. And when I loosely use the term white shell, I think I should include

trochus in the same category, since trochus is used as a substitute for the more expensive and better appearing white MOP shell.

It is particularly in the field of the so-called white shell button that the synthetics have exerted their greatest competitive force, and

particularly so in the small sizes of buttons, up to 24 ligne in diameter, the greatest proportion of which are used on men’s shirts.

Why then have the synthetics, with their great price advantage, their uniformity of pattern and colour, their ready availability in almost any quantity, in any pattern, at any time, not done a more thorough job of displacing the buttons of small shirt-button sizes made of MOP shell?

I think we must first consider the fact that standards of masculine liv ing have greatly improved since the end of World War II in most of the countries of the world where men wear shirts with buttons down the front.

These same countries have also enjoyed substantial population growth. If this premise is correct, we have to contend with an over all increased demand for shirt buttons, of all materials combined.

In the face of this increased de mand, the supply of MOP and trochus combined, is rather less than the pre-World War II total — and the costs of producing this smaller supply have greatly in creased —to such an extent that there is, even at current record breaking prices, very little incentive to tempt new ventures into what everyone concedes to be a difficult and risky business.

So it would appear that there

still is sufficient demand for the luxury type of men’s shirt, employ ing genuine ocean pearl buttons, to keep the article in demand at current high prices, relative to the competing products that still do not quite manage to convey that sense of genuine high-quality and texture of material that high-class manu

facturers take pride in placing their more expensive garmt thereby, perhaps, making a sp( appeal to a certain section of t trade.

Here in the USA, the Ocean F Button Manufacturers’ Associa has been spending a great dea money, year after year, to in<

lirt makers to specify in their iblic advertising that they use jenuine Ocean Pearl Buttons,” and lis campaign has, on the whole, Sen quite successful I think, in taking both manufacturers and msumers feel that a shirt with the jean pearl button on it is un jubtedly a better shirt than one hich cannot brag about its buttons ■even though there may be no iher difference between the two irments.

All MOP button manufacturers fe paying 1 cent, per lb. on every >und of shell that they consume, [ help finance this work, and we 1 feel that it has been money well tent so far.

As regards white MOP buttons [ sizes other than shirt button ses, we have approximately the me fashion considerations as ►plying to black-edged MOP —and 1 we can hope is that fashion long ttiiinues to favour this industry, id that the general condition of rerall full employment in most luntries will continue indefinitely. 5 long as this is so, MOP is likely [ continue as a desirable semi xury commodity, and may be lared for some further time from le fate of genuine ivory, tortoise tell, cattle horn ,and kindred pro icts. use of which has dwindled most to vanishing point, as com ired to their former status in prld trade.

From Mr. Rie’s above observa ons it would therefore seem that \e outlook for the black-lipped 'OP shell of French Oceania and le Cook Islands is somewhat better t sured than that for trochus and hite MOP shell, and that so long ( there is relative peace in the orld, the market outlook is far om gloomy.

At Sogeri, Papua, 21 native griculture trainees have completed ie first 12-months course with ying colours. Previously the course as of 4-months. The students come ’om New Ireland, New Britain, tid the Gulf and Milne Bay istricts. At Lae Technical School, ► per cent, of the native trainees ttained passes at their yearly sams, while at Rabaul, 96 mdidates trained by Roman atholic Missions gained passes at scent Administration examinations tt native trainee-teachers. Officials escribed the complete pass as an

iitstanding performance.

Measles and dysentery reached pidemic proportions in Port toresby and Lae in December, he Nursery of the European ospital at Port Moresby was ccommodating small sufferers from ysentery, while at Lae, over 100 ises of measles were reported up ) the second week in December, chools were closed early in Lae.