Still Battling On
pp. 21-22 · Read in the full issue
1957 Copra Price
AS PIM goes to press, February 15, representatives of British copra producing territories in the Pacific continue negotiations with the UK Ministry of Food for the 1957 price of copra sold under the Copra Agreement.
The MOF, it is understood, wants to take advantage of the full 10 per cent, fall provided for under the Agreement.
Producers’ representatives are trying for better than that.
Free market price on February 5 was £Stg.67 c.i.f. Continental ports.
The 1956 MOF price of £Stg.sB.lo f.o.b. Islands ports therefore gives producers an advantage, as at least fStg.l2 must be added to the f.o.b. price for freight, insurance, etc.
Samoa Anticipates Price
WORKING on an expectation that the 1957 MOF price of copra will be £Stg.ss per ton, the Western Samoan Government has fixed the export price at £S.4I
Honiara Has
a Bus
Honiara, BSIP, now has public transport in the form of a bus operated by a local firm ("Honiara Enter prises Pty., Ltd.", ap pears to be the partly obscured name on the vehicle). Hitler may not have got very far in his dream of world conquest, but his "people's car" seems to be carrying on admirably where he left off.
Photo: D. M. Thorsen.
and £S47 per ton f.o.b. Apia for the two grades. (Samoan currency is at par with Stg.) Negotiations have not yet been concluded between the MOF and Pacific copra producers’ represent atives, but £Stg.ss may be regarded as an optimistic estimate. If copra falls the whole 10 per cent, per missible under the Agreement, the 1957 price would be around £5tg.52.13.
The Western Samoan Govern ment has stated that should the new MOF price vary greatly from the estimated £Stg.ss, it may be necessary to reconsider the recently declared price.
At the same time, the Govern ment announced new rates for the purchase of copra (as distinct from export prices). The price to be paid to producers in Apia and the four outside districts ranges from 22/6 to 23/6 per 100 lbs for ordinary quality (or second grade); a bonus of 5/- per 100 lbs will be paid to the producer of Samoan (or first grade) quality copra on the above rates.
In view of the extra responsibility devolving on traders under the new grading procedure, traders’ com missions have been fixed at 15/per ton for ordinary quality and £1 per ton for Samoan quality copra.
Merchants, traders and producers await with considerable interest the effects of the new copra grading scheme, which is to start on Feb ruary 1. There is a good deal of scepticism and doubt whether the grading scheme will work efficiently and it is pointed out that in neighbouring Fiji the plan to in troduce copra grading has found strong opposition and had apparently to be dropped.
BSIP Paying at Old Price
Until March
IT was announced in Honiara, BSIP, in December, that for the first three months of 1957, the BSIP Copra Board would pay for copra at the 1956 level. If the Min istry of Food copra price changes for 1957, the price to producers would be adjusted at the end of March.
Present prices are £A6I/10/- per ton, first grade; £AS7, second grade; and £A52.10, third grade.
If A daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Roderick Miller, at Wagga, NSW, on December 25. Mrs. Miller was formerly Miss Mara Hennings, of Naitauba, Lau Is., Fiji. The Millers already have a small son, Donald. t Mr. F. H. Reeves, lately Account ant, Island Territories Department.
Wellington, has been appointed Treasurer, Cook Islands Admini stration.