1957 Copra Price

Fight Goes On

THE battle between the British South Pacific copra producers’ organisations, led by high officials of Australia House, London, and the British Ministry of Food, who are trying to agree on a price for copra delivered under the MOF contract in 1957, still was going on in mid-March.

The MOF naturally seeks the full reduction of 10 per cent., which is permitted under the contract when the world price has fallen. The South Pacific men apparently have produced strong arguments in favour of a lesser reduction than 10 per cent., otherwise the argument would not have been deadlocked since the beginning of the year.

Settlement may be sought at high levels.

The European free market price on March 7 (sellers) was £67 Stg. per ton, cif European port. The 1956 MOF contract price was £5B/10 - Stg., fob Islands port— equal to between £7O and £72 per ton, cif—and that was, in turn, ad justed as a local price by local Administrations. That is why Lon don is fighting for the full 10 per cent, reduction, which then would make the MOF contract price very close to the free market price.

No change has been announced in Australian Territories in the copra price, from the 1956 price of £62/10/- Aus. per ton fob Islands port (equal to £47 Stg.) ; but the P-NG Copra Board, and most of the other Islands Administra tions now are paying a price equal to a 10 per cent, reduction on 1956, with the proviso that if the final MOF Contract price for 1957 is more, they will make adjustments.

The Fiji Copra Board announced late in February that the local buy ing prices, from March 1, at Suva and Levuka, would be: For FMS grade, £5O Fijian per ton, and for Plantation Grade, £5O/5/6. The Board says (a) this is a temporary price, pending MOF settlement; (b) there is a reduction of more than 10 per cent., because the Fijian 1956 price contained some refund to pro ducers of savings made earlier.