Islands Product
pp. 168-169 · Read in the full issue
(Unless otherwise stated, quotations In Australian currency. Aust. £ equi approximately 16/- Stg., NZ. or Samoa; 18/- Fiji; 20/- Tonga, Solomonsr WPHC areas; 168 Pac. Frs.; SUS 2.20-2. J.
Copra
The British Ministry of Food 9-ye' Contract, which governed Copra pr:i In Papua and New Guinea. FIJI, West)?
Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Gilbert i Ellice Colony (and. to some extent, .
Tonga and Cook Islands) expired on . cember 31. 1957; since when each Te:a tory has made its own arrangements collection and marketing of copra.
Papua-New Guinea:—Aii Product:
Is delivered to Copra Marketing Boss controlled by six members, including thl; planters’ representatives; and the 800 directs distribution and sales, and mae
lents to the producers. Production mainly to (a) Unilever (under con covering 1959), (b) Australia (for consumption) and (c) crushing-mill abaul. Prices generally arranged in dance with ruling rate in Philippines et, with premiums for hot-air dried. rentatlve” Price For New Guinea m January 1, 1959, P-NG Copra I announces “Tentative Prices”, for delivered main ports: Hot-Air Dried. per ton; FMS, £AS4 per ton; e-Dried £AS3/7/6 I: —No Government control—producers rtiere they wish. Bulk of copra goes ■ushing-mlll in Suva, whose price aarf, Suva, is announced each week, arch 2, prices were, HAD, £PBS/5/-;
£Fb3/17/6; Pm2, £Fb2/10/-.
STERN SAMOA: —Official Copra receives all production, and sells and makes payments to producers. proportion goes to Unilever, at pines FM grade rates, plus pre s up to £Stg.3 per ton for hot ried Prices announced December, to operate till further notice: Ret ried £8.61/10/6 per ton; sun-dried 1. £8.59/0/6; sun-dried, No. 2, /10/6.
IGA: —Sales are under Government il. Part of production goes to Europe, arrangement with Unilever con -1 by Philippines prices, and part open market.
OMONS:—AII production marketed ;h official Copra Board, at prices on Philippines market. Price de- March: Ist grade, £A7S; 2nd £A73; 3rd grade, £A69 per ton, BSIP ports.
BERT AND ELLlCE:—Production ted in Europe through official Copra , at prices based on Philippines less “stabilisation fund” charges, *MOA: —Producers receive 4 cents lb. 1.6 or £A4O approx, per long ton).
Ic bonus, if average proceeds exceed buying price and expenses.
HEBRIDES:—In mid-February price 1A66 per ton, delivered Vila/Santo. me date, price was 125,000 Metrop. per metric ton, c.i.f. Marseilles.
K IS./NIUE/TOKELAU: Price fixed st half of 1959. by Abels, Ltd , of nd who mill it, was announced in ry as follows: Standard Grade: 1/15/6 plus £1 for bags, plus premium, totalling £NZ69/0/6.
Grade: £NZ66/15/6 plus £1 for plus £l/5/- premium, plus £l/5/premium for hot air dried, total- NZ7O/5/6, f.0.b., Rarotonga.
Other Produce
DA: —lslands prices are based on the r Ghana cocoa which, on March 5, 5tg.296 per ton, c.i.f., London.
SAMOA: —Nominal price quoted in March 5, £S2BS, f.0.b., Apia.
G.: March 5. £A335 ex-wharf, P.-N.G.: March 5, 4/3, 4/4 per f. Sydney, was generally quoted, have firmed.
March, quotes for Kenya coffee A grade, none offering; B grade, 20; C grade £Stg.3ss; under ;s, £Stg.29o; all per ton, c.i.f., lUTS: —P-N.G.: March 5,: Kernels 1/9 into store; virtually no sale in at present for nuts in shell. 3ER: —P.-N.G. price is based on )re rate, which on Mar. 4, was: No. , spot, 87% Straits cents per lb Aust.).
VANILLA BEANS: Victor Karp Tulk & Co., Sydney, reported on March 9 New crop, c.i.f., Sydney. Tahiti White and Yellow labtl. processed standard packs 71/-, Green 69/-.
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. Vltamlsed 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.—February quotations by independent pearlers for: Sound, £A7SO; D, £ASSO; E, £A225; EE. £AISO (in store Sydney). Manihiki lagoon still closed; Penrhyn, £Stg.4ls, f.0.b., Raro tonga, nominal.
TROCHUS:—LittIe or no demand; nominal £A3IO-315, ex-wharf, Sydney.
GREEN SNAlL:—Supplies light and could be increased to meet demand. £A36O per ton, ex-wharf quoted.
London and US Quotations
Copra: London, March 5, Philippines in bulk, $265, c.i.f. UK/Nth. European ports.
Straits/Borneo, FMS, del. weights, c.i.f.
UK/Nth. European ports, £ Stg.92/10/-.
New York: March 5. Philippines $267.50, c.i.f., Pacific Coast ports. (£1 Australian is about equal to 2.25 US Dollars.) Coconut Oil:—London, March 5, Ceylon in bulk. £ Stg.l34, per ton, c.i.f., UK/Nth.
European ports. Straits/Borneo, £ Stg. 135 per ton c.i.f.
Rubber: London, c.i.f., March 4, RSS No. 1, spot, 25%d Stg. per lb; July-Sept.,
26V 4 d Stg. per lb; Feb., 1960, 25%d Stg. per lb.