Islands Produce

(Unless otherwise stated, qnots In Australian currency. Aust. approximately 16/- Stg., NZ Samoa; 18/- Fiji; 20/- Tonga, S< WPHC areas; 168 Pac. Frs.; SUS

Copra

The British Ministry of Foo Contract, which governed Cop in Papua and New Guinea, Fiji Samoa, Solomon Islands, and G!

Ellice Colony (and, to some e Tonga and Cook Islands) expire cember 31. 1957; since when ea tory has made Its own arrange) collection and marketing of coj

Papua-New Guinea:—Aii P

Is delivered to Copra Marketln controlled by six members, includ planters’ representatives; and tl directs distribution and sales, ai payments to the producers. P goes mainly to (a) Unilever (m tract covering 1959), (b) Austr local consumption) and (c) crus In Rabaul. Prices generally arr accordance with ruling rate In PJ

rtth premiums for hot-air dried.

July 1, 1959. P-NG Copra jounced “Tentative Prices , for rered main ports: Hot-Air Dried. per ton; FMS, £A7I per ton; ed, £ A7O per ton. fo Government control—producers they wish. Bulk of copra goes ng-mlll in Suva, whose price Suva, is announced each week. 1,, prices were: HAD, £F69/7/6;

8/2/6; Fm2, £ F66/15/-.

ER N SAMOA;—Official Copra elves all production, and sells makes payments to producers, jportion goes to Unilever, at i FM grade rates, plus pre ) to £Stg.3 per ton for hot- Prices announced in March, .air dried, £367/13/8 per ton; No. 1. £S6S/3/8; sun-dried 361/13/8. Prices were reviewed and Board decided to maintain rate for another month, when vill again be reviewed. —Sales are under Government irt of production goes to Europe, •angement with Unilever con- Phllipplnes prices, and part n market. )NS:— All production marketed ifflcial Copra Board, at prices Philippines market. Price de- September, unchanged from at: Ist grade, £A74; 2nd il2 ; 3rd grade, £A6B, per ton, P ports.

T AND ELLlCE:—Production In Europe through official Copra t prices based on Philippines l “stabilisation fund” charges, iA:—Producers receive 4 cents lb. )r £A4O approx, per long ton), mus, If average proceeds exceed [ng price and expenses, EBRIDES:— Price hardened to- I of August, and in early Sep is approximately £ASO per ton, iTila/Santo. On August 26, price 00 Metrop. francs per metric Marseilles. :S./NIUE/TOKELAU: Subject to ions of the copra contract be ie Cook Islands-Niue-Tokelaus and Abels, Ltd., of Auckland, ite the only New Zealand copra mill, the price for the second 59 has been fixed at £NZBS/8/9 Grade, and £NZB4/3/9 for Grade, per ton, in sacks, f.o.b. /Niue/Apia. v price represents the average ?rice for the first half of 1959. s method of price fixing, these 1 do not receive the benefit of mtial price rise until six months ch explains the substantial rise uncture while world prices are The previous prices were 6 and £NZ69/0/6 respectively. he contract, if the average PM Philippines copra, as fixed twice 1 the Spot Price Fixing Com the London Copra Association per cent, either way, the Seller vent of an increase, and the the event of a decrease, has the isk for a new contract figure.

Other Produce

: —lslands prices are based on the Ghana cocoa which, on Sept. 9, 1-276 per ton, c.i.f., Sydney.

W. SAMOA:—Nominal price quoted in Sydney on Sept. 9, £S27O, f.0.b., Apia.

P.-N.G.: sept. 9, £A32O, ex-wharf, oyancy.

COFFEE:—P.-N.G. September 9, good quality A grade, per lb, 4/4 to 4/6; B grade, 4/2 to 4/5; C grade, 4/- to 4/3, c.i.f., Sydney. . . , . , In August price quoted for Tanganyika A grade was £Stg.3Bo; B grade £Stg.37s; Undergradings, £Stg.27s, all per ton and c.i.f., Sydney. Uganda Robusta is offering at around £Stg.2l9 c.i.f.

Svdnev y y ' PEANUTS: P-NG, Sept. 9. kernels: White Spanish. 1/7 lb; Virginia Bunch, 1/8. Kingaroy Peanuts Board recently dropped price of kernels by 2d per lb.

RUBBER:—P.-N.G. price is based on Singapore rate, which Sept. 8 was: No. 1 RSS, spot, 112 Vi Straits cents per lb. (39.14 d Aust.).

VANILLA BEANS: Victor Karp, Tulk & Co., Sydney, reported Sept. 9, steep rise in new season’s Tahiti beans. White and yellow label, processed, standard packs, 90/-; green label, 88/-, c.i.f., Sydney. (Last quote, old season, 75/- and 73/-). , ? IC ® (Australian): Price from May 1, 9^ P V NG : c D / y br °^ n and 112 lb bags, 5 tons and over, £6l/10/per ton f.o.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.

Fijl.-Locally-grown rice has been retailmg in Suva at lid Fijian per lb, with Saigon imported rice at lOd Fijian per lb. Suva people regard the imported rice as inferior to the Fiji product.

PEARL SHELL.—Quotations in Sept, by independent MOP. shell agents were” |oun d D o f / 575 ' E „ £25 «. EE £AI7S (in store Sydney). (Prices were very firm Qn above ra t es ). Penryhn £Stg.4oo (nominal). f.0.b., Rarotonga, Manihiki lagoon will remain closed this year. Unless the reported plan to trans fer Manihiki divers to Suwarrow atoll to dive for black-lip M.O.P. eventuates, only limited quantities of pearl shell will be 0 n offer from the Cook Is. this year.

Tpnril i, s . ... , .

TROCHUS —Price fell during August when the f e littla demand. Nominal pnce Clf - Sydney Sept. £A26O-£A27O.

In Fiji recently, trochus was being bought at from 16 to 2/6 Fijian per lb, depending on quality (equal to £FI6B to £F2BO per ton, in store, Suva), GREEN SNAIL SHELL.—Because of a demand from Japan, price has risen to £365 ner ton and is very firm. P.-N.G. and 8.5.1. shell is in short supply. One Sydney agent, 1.C.E.P., 299 Kent St., says h f could probably place a small quantity of second and third grade, . , j nc n 4 London and US QUOtdtlOnS Copra: London, Sept. 9, Philippines, in bulk, $229 per ton, c.i.f., UK/Nth. Euro n t gtraits/Borneo, FMS, delivered weights, c.i.f. UK/Nth. European port, £ Stg ,B3. New York. Sept. 9, Philippines, $225 g C-i-f . Pacific coast port . (£1 Australian is equal to about 2.25 US Dollars.) Coconut Oil: London, Sept. 9, Ceylon, in bulk £st g.i3B per ton. c.i.f., UK/North Europ ean port. Straits crude, £Stg.l32 c i f Rubber: London, c.i.f , Sept. 8, RSS No. 1,33 d Stg. per lb; market weakening.