High Unilever Executive Will Be

[?]uture of South Pacific Copra

Here Next Month

The chief buyer of oils and fats for Unilever Limited, Mr.

J. C. A. Faure, leaves London on February 18 on a world tour, in the course of which he will visit Fiji, Australia and Papua.

PHIS is an indication of the moves which are likely to follow the expiry of the British [OF Copra Contract at the end of lie year, and of the interest which le world’s biggest copra buyers are kely to show in the South Pacific

opra production.

Mr. Faure is expected in Sydney n March 6, from America, and lans to leave Sydney on April 6 ir Southeast Asia. Between these ates he will visit—

Port Moresby . March 14-19

SUVA March .24-27 Mr. H. D. Howard, another pro linent executive of Unilever jmited, visited the South Pacific opra-producing countries in 1956. le went to many islands, and ddressed many meetings of coco lut planters. The emnhasis of his alks was on production and the uality of the copra produced. He ras asked many times about future marketing; but he always pointed ut that that was not his depart ment.

Future marketing appears to be he chief interest of Mr. Faure — ifho, incidentally, bears a name mown for a very long time in the jondon copra market.

It is assumed that Mr. Faure is icming here to examine the pos ibilities of buying large quantities if South Pacific copra after 1357.

Mr. Faure has informed us that le will be happy to meet copra woducers, or grouns of planters, biywhere en route, and discuss narket conditions with them, f It is expected that Mr. Faure will spend most of his time in Port Moresby with members of the 3opra Marketing Board, and it is likely that the Chapman of the Board (Mr. lan will neet Mr. Faure ir Sydney and iccompany him to Pa la. It appears that time does no' permit Mr.

Faure to visit the real centres of P-NG copra production. • The significance of Unilever's interest in South Pacific copra is discussed in our main article on page It.

Need for Better Grading

THE International Association of Seed Crushers, of which Unilever is a member, issued

the following press release at the end of January: Following the Annual Congress of the International Association of Seed Crushers, held last year at Lucerne, a committee was formed to study problems relating to copra quality. This committee, consisting of representatives from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands, held its first meeting in Paris, under the chairmanship of Mr. J. C. Glover (Great Britain).

The committee felt that, irrespec tive of any efforts made towards improvement in quality, some form of grading was essential in all areas, to ensure that both the producer and the buyer recognised the type of copra for which they were con tracting.

The present designations were considered to be inadequate in pro viding a true picture of quality and defining, as originally intended, the method of drying. It was felt that the terms HAD (Hot Air Dried), FMS (Fair Merchantable Sundried), and SD (Smoke Dried) could well be replaced or supplemented, pos sibly by Grades 1-5.

Although drying is probably the most important factor in copra quality, the actual method employed is not in itself decisive, providing the resulting quality is adequate.

If smoke kilns are used, it is almost certain that the copra will fall into the lower grades; when

produced in hot air kilns it could he expected to reach a higher category.

It was agreed that, although grades could be defined solely by visual examination, this was open to misinterpretation and the pos sibility of abuse. A scheme was outlined whereby the categories cculd be defined by analysis of the lesulting oil, with each factor suit ably weighted to take into account the actual value to the processor.

It was realised that the problems associated with any grading scheme were considerable and all members of the committee agreed to study the implications of the proposals, and to discuss them with their respective national organisations before the next meeting, which will be held in March, 1957.