Islands Produce

(Unless otherwise stated, quotations are In Australian currency. Aust. £ equals approximately 16/- Stg., NZ, or W.

Samoa; 18/- Fiji; 20/- Tonga, Solomons & WPHC areas: 168 Pac. Frs.; SUS 2.20-2.30.)

Copra

The British Ministry of Food 9-years Contract, which governed Copra prices in Papua and New Guinea, Fiji, Western Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Gilbert and Ellice Colony (and, to some extent, in Tonga and Cook Islands) expired on De cember 31, 1957; since when each Terri tory has made its own arrangements for collection and marketing of copra.

PAPUA-NEW GUINEA:—AII production is delivered to Copra Marketing Board, controlled by Government; and the Board directs distribution and sales, and makes

payments to the producers. Production goes mainly to (a) Unilever (under con tract covering 1958), (b) Australia (for local consumption) and (c) crushing-mill in Rabaul. Prices generally arranged in accordance with ruling rate in Philippines market. Unilever price: Manila FM grade rates, with premiums up to £3A per ton for hot-air dried.

“Tentative” Price For New Guinea On August 5, 1958, P-NG Copra Board announced “Tentative Prices”, for copra delivered at main ports: Hot-Air Dried, £ A5O per ton; FM Standard. £A49; Smoke-Dried, £A4B/7/6.

FIJI:—No Government control—producers sell where they wish. Bulk of copra goes to crushing-mill in Suva, whose price on wharf, Suva, is announced each week.

As at August 4, HAD, £FS6/15 FMI

£ F55/7/6; Fm2, £Fs4.

WESTERN SAMOA:—Official Copra Board receives all production, and sells same and makes payments to producers.

Large proportion goes to Unilever, at Philippines FM grade rates, plus pre miums up to £ Stg.3 per ton for hot air dried. Prices as from July 18, 1958—Hot-air dried; £Stg.sl/7 -: sun dried No. 1; £Stg.4B/17 -: No. 2: £ Stg.4s/7/-.

TONGA: —Sales are under Government control. Part of production goes to Europe, under arrangement with Unilever con trolled by Philippines prices, and part on to open market.

SOLOMONS:—AII production marketed through official Copra Board, at prices based on Philippines market. Price de clared August; Ist grade, £AS3; 2nd grade, £ASI; 3rd grade, £A47, per ton, f.0.b., BSIP ports.

GILBERT AND ELLlCE:—Production marketed in Europe through official Copra Board, at prices based on Philippines rates, less “stabilisation fund” charges, etc.

E. SAMOA:—Producers receive 4 cents lb. (SUSB9.6 or £A4O approx, per long ton).

Periodic bonus, if average proceeds exceed Govt, buying price and expenses.

NEW HEBRIDES: —Aug. price: 7.800 Pac. francs (£A4S/12/3) delivered Vila/Santo. (Current French price, 84,750 Metrop. francs per 1,000 kilos, c.i.f. Marsailles), market steady.

COOK ISLANDS:—LocaI price Is based on £ NZSO per ton, f.0.b., Rarotonga, with premium of 50/- (NZ) for top grade

kiln dried. Shipping, handling, shrinkage and storage charges reduce the outer islands price to about £NZ3O per ton, basic rate.

Other Produce

COCOA:—lslands prices are based on the rate for Ghana cocoa which on August 8, was £ 5tg.362/10/- per ton, c.i.f., London.

A large W. African crop is expected this season.

P.-N.G.:—August a: £A4OO-£A4IO per ton c.i.f., Sydney.

W. SAMOA: —Price quoted August 8, £S3SO, f.0.b.. Apia.

COFFEE:—P.-N.G.: August 8: 4/3 to 4/6, per lb; small quantities to 4/9. Market very weak. Plentiful supplies of NG and overseas coffee available.

August 8: Kenya Arabica, A grade, f.a.q.. £Stg.sos; B grade, f.a.q., £Stg.49s; C grade, f.a.q., £Stg.46o; all per ton and c.i.f. Aust. ports.

PEANUTS:—P.-N.G.: August 8: Kernels 1/8 into store; Virginia bunch, in shell, large, well-cleaned up to 1/3 del. Sydney.

Large crops coming in from Queensland and Northern NSW. NG. in types other than Virginia bunch, hard to sell.

RUBBER:—P.-N.G. price is based on Singapore rate, which on August 6, was: No. 1 RSS, spot, 81 3 a Straits cents (28.25 d Aust. approx.) per lb.

VANILLA BEANS: Victor Karp. Tulk & Co.. Sydney, reported on August 8: New crop, c.i.f., Sydney. Tahiti White and Yellow label, processed standard packs 67/-, Green 65/-.

RICE (Australian): —Price from May 1, 1958 —P.-N.G.: Dry brown and dressed, 112 lb bags, 5 tons and over, £6l/10/per ton, f.0.w.; under 5 tons £62 per ton. Vitamised and enriched white, 112 lb bags, 5 tons and over, £6B per ton, f.0.w.; under 5 tons. £6B/10/- per ton.

Other Pac. Islands: Dry, brown, etc., £7O per ton, f.0.w., Sydney or Melbourne.

PEARL SHELL.—May 9 quotation by independent pearlers unchanged. Sound, £A7SO; D, £ASSO; E, £A375; EE. £A2OS (in store Sydney). Manihiki, £5OO f.o.b.

Rarotonga.

TROCHUS: —Market still weak. Some business at £A3SO ex-wharf Sydney.

GREEN SNAIL:—A little business at £ A 350 ex-wharf Sydney.

London and US Quotations

Copra: London, August 7, Philippines, bulk, Aug./Sept.. c.i.f., $l9B, seller.

Straits/Borneo, fair mer., del. weights, c.i.f., UK/Nth. European ports. Aug./Sept, £Stg.72, nominal. New York, Aug. 7: Philippines, c.i.f. US Pacific coast port, $lBB nominal. £1 Australian Is about equal to 2.25 US Dollars.) Coconut Oil: London. August 7. Ceylon in bulk. UK/Nth. European port, c.i.f..

August £ Stg.ll3 per ton. seller. Straits, crude, c.i.f., in bulk, £ Stg.lo6/10/-, seller.

Rubber; London, August 6, per lb, RSS No. 1, spot, 23y 2 d Stg. buyers; September, 24y 8 d Stg. August, 1959, 23%d Stg.

Exchange Rates

FlJl.—Through BANK OF NSW, ANZ BANK and BANK OF NZ. Australia on Fiji, basis £lOO Fiji: Buying, £Alll/2/6: Selling, £AII3. Fijl-London, basis £lOO London: B. £llO/15/-; S. £ll2. NZ-Fiji, basis £lOO NZ: B. £lll/11/9; S. £llO/4/3.

SAMOA.—Through BANK OF NZ. Aus tralia on Samoa, basis £lOO Samoa: B. £ A123/12/6; S. £124/10/9. Samoa- London, basis £lOO London: B. £99/7/6; S. £lOl/10/-. Samoa-NZ, basis £lOO NZ- B. £100; S. £lOO/10/-. Samoa-Fijl, basis £lOO Samoa: B. £111: S. £llO.

Papua - Ng.—Commonwealth Bank

(Pt. Moresby, Lae, Rabaul, Goroka, Bulolo,

Kavieng. Madang. Wewak). BANK OF NSW (branches: Port Moresby, Lae, Bulolo, Rabaul, Madang, Samarai, Goroka; agencies; Wau, Boroko, Kokopo), ANZ BANK (Port Moresby, Lae, Rabaul) and

National Bank Of A/Asia. (Port

Moresby) quote exchange rate Australia- Papua-NG: 10/- per £AIOO.

NORFOLK IS.—Commonwealth Bank quotes exchange rate Australia - Norfolk Island: 5/- per £AIOO.

FR. PACIFIC COLONIES.—Pacific francs, most valuable of the three franc groups in French Onion, are used in New Cale donia, New Hebrides, and Fr. Polynesia.

FRENCH BANK (Comptoir National D’Escompte de Paris) in Sydney June 9, quotes: Selling, Noumea, 168 Pac. francs to £ Aust.; Papeete, 166.25 Pac. francs to £ Aust.; 208 Pac francs to £ Stg.; 72.82 Pac. francs to US $. Selling 1,179.25 Metrop. francs to £ Stg.

Samoan Banana Exports

Reduced Slightly

W. Samoa’s banana boom is still con tinuing (see elsewherei but not now at the same rate as at the beginning of the year, according to the latest figures from Apia.

Export shipments to New Zealand amounted to more than 100,000 cases in May. But the figure for July was ex pected to be reduced to 60,000 cases, and in August the figure will probably be about 65.000.

One reason for the export reduction is apparently very cold weather in New Zealand, which makes the handling of large quantities of bananas difficult.

Another could be that New Zealand is “going easy” until it decides how it can adjust its quota figures among W. Samoa.

Fiji and Tongan growers.

Fiji is a good customer of New Zealand in many ways, and the Dominion cannot afford to completely ignore the repre sentations of Fiji for a greater share in the banana market.

Meanwhile, Fiji. Samoa and Tonga are all reported to be looking around for other markets for bananas, and have their eyes on Australia.

There, however, they might come up against vested interests, who would like to keep the supplies to themselves— despite the fact that the Australian public would welcome good quality bananas from the Pacific—especially if they could get them at a cheaper price.

Queensland Boosts Peanut

Production

Greatly increased production of peanuts from Queensland is expected this year— some months ago the increase estimated was from 19 million lb of unshelled nuts last year, to 30 million lb. Only about 5,000 more acres were planted to peanuts, but the yield this year is much higher per acre.

Northern NSW has also gone in for growing peanuts and large supplies from both these sources are currently flooding the Australian market making it difficult to sell any but the best Virginia Bunch types from New Guinea.

Russia Announces New

Synthetic Rubber

The Soviet newsagency, Tass, an nounced some weeks ago that a new and very cheap form of synthetic rubber had been produced from oil gases at the Leningrad Synthetic Rubber Research In stitute.

The new rubber was reported to be heat resistant and tyres made from it would stand temperatures of up to 300 deg. Cent.

The Institute had also produced syn thetic rubbers which were immune to a number of solvents.