Overcrowded Suva
p. 141 · Read in the full issue
Fiji Credit
Squeeze
Overcrowded Suva Bond Store
THERE has been less accommoda tion than ever in the sheds at Suva wharf recently because one of the sheds has had to be con verted into an additional bond store.
The need for the extra bond store has been brought about by the credit squeeze, and the un favourable trade balance at the end of November, when imports had totalled £15,000,000, against exports of only £9,000,000.
When the banks tightened up on overdrafts and advances, many Indian storekeepers with goods on
the water found they could not make up the drafts, and were forced to bond their shipments.
These storekeepers are trying to clear current stocks to get enough cash to get their goods out of bond, but most of them seem to be going the wrong way about it. Although the sign, “Luto Sobu Rawarawa” (prices are very cheap) has been hung out in many places, very few storekeepers have, in fact, brought their prices down.
The larger and older-established stores, which are soundly financed are in a much better position to take up their bonded goods than their fellows, whose business “mush roomed” in the post-war boom.