Islands Prod

(Unless otherwise stated, qnotat In Australian currency. Aust. i approximately 16/- Stg., NZ.

Samoa; 18/- Fiji; 20/- Tonga, Soli WPHC areas; 168 Pac. Frs.; SUS »

Copra

The British Ministry of Foodb Contract, which governed Copn in Papua and New Guinea, Fiji, , Samoa. Solomon Islands, and GIIIJ Ellice Colony (and. to some ex Tonga and Cook Islands) explredJ cember 31, 1957; since when eao tory has made its own arrangenn collection and marketing of copu

Papua - New Guinea;—Aii Pn

is delivered to Copra Marketing; controlled by six members, includii planters’ representatives: and thi directs distribution and sales, am payments to the producers. Pr.' goes mainly to (a) Unilever (unr tract covering 1959), (b) Austrgr local consumption) and (c) cruste in Rabaul, Prices generally arra accordance with ruling rate in PM market, with premiums for hot-as From July 1, 1959. P-NGC Board announced “Tentative Prioi copra delivered main ports: Hot-A* £A72/10/- per ton; FMS, £A7I Smoke-Dried, £A7O per ton.

FIJI;—No Government control—pq sell where they wish. Bulk of cojc

ig-mlll In Suva, whose price Suva, is announced each week. prices were: HAD, £F77/7/6,

B; Fm2. £F74/15/-.

ER N SAMOA:—Official Copra

eives all production, and sells makes payments to producers, (portion goes to Unilever, at [ FM grade rates, plus pre , to £S3 per ton for hot- Prices announced in March, •air dried, £867/13/8 per ton; No. 1. £S6S/3/8; sun-dned 51/13/8.

Sales are under Government irt of production goes to Europe, ■angement with Unilever con- Phlllpplnes prices, and part n market. )NS:—All production marketed (fflclal Copra Board, at prices Philippines market. Price de- October; Ist grade. £A80; 2nd i. 78; 3rd grade, £A74, per ton, p ports.

T AND ELLlCE:—Production In Europe through official Copra t prices based on Philippines s “stabilisation fund” charges, )A —Producers receive 6 cents lb. or £ A6O/5/- approx, per long iodic bonus, if average proceeds -vt. buying price and expenses. [EBRIDES: —Price rose in Sep

id was approximately £A62/10/-

elivered Vila/Santo on September tober 2. price was 123,000 Metrop. r metric ton, c.i.f. Marseilles.

IS /NIUE/TOKELAU: Subject to

sions of the copra contract be ie Cook Islands-Niue-Tokelaus and Abels, Ltd., of Auckland, ate the only New Zealand copra mill, the price for the second 359 has been fixed at £NZBS/8/9 ; Grade, and £NZB4/3/9 for Grade, per ton, in sacks, f.o.b. i/Niue/Apia. w price represents the average price for the first half of 1959. is method of price fixing, these s do not receive the benefit of antial price rise until six months ich explains the substantial rise incture. The previous prices were /6 and £NZ69/0/6 respectively, the contract, if the average FM Philippines copra, as fixed twice ,y the Spot Price Fixing Com f the London Copra Association per cent, either way, the Seller event of an increase, and the the event of a decrease, has the ask for a new contract figure.

Other Produce

t: —islands prices are based on the Ghana cocoa which, on Oct. 7, tg. 256/5/- per ton, c.i.f., Sydney.

IMOA;—Nominal price quoted in >n Oct. 7, £ 5265 f.0.b., Apia, grade 5, grade 2. k: Oct. 8, £ A3lO ex-wharf, EE:—P.-N.G. October 7. good A grade, per lb, 4/4 to 4/6; B 4/2 to 4/4; C grade, 4/- to 4/3, r dney. rly Oct., price quoted for Tanga- K grade was £Stg.4oo; B grade, 5; Undergradings, £Stg.26s, all i and c.i.f.. Sydney. Uganda Ro -5 offering at approx. £Stg.lB7/10/rdney.

UTS: P.-N.G., Oct. 8, kernels: Spanish, 1/7 lb; Virginia Bunch, Cingaroy Peanuts Board recently I price of kernels by 2d per lb.

RUBBER:—P.-N.G. price is based on Singapore rate, which Oct. 6 had dropped to: No. 1 RSS. spot, 99 5 8 Straits cents per

lb - (34.75 d Aust.).

VANILLA BEANS: Victor Karp, Tulk & Co., Sydney, reported Oct. 7: Tahiti beans, new season, white and yellow label, processed, standard packs, 90/-, green label, 88/-, c.i.f., Sydney. (Australian):-Price from May 1. 1959 P .. N . G . : Dry broW n and dressed. n 2 ib bags. 5 tons and over, £6l/10/per ton fQW . 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 er ton f.0.w., Sydney or Melbourne.

Fiji.—:Locally-growi a rice ha;s beien re taUing 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 Oct. by independent M.O.P shell agents were; Sound £ABOO, D £A6OO, E £A275. EE £A2OO (in store Sydney). (Prices were firm on above rates I. Penrhyn £ stg.4oo (nominal), f.0.b., Rarotonga.

Manihiki lagoon will remain closed this year. Unless the reported plan to transf e r Manihiki divers to Suwarrow atoll to dive for black-lip M.O.P. eventuates, only limited quantities of pearl shell will be on offer from the Cook Is. this year.

TROCHUS.—Price fell recently and there i S little demand. Nominal price c.i.f.

Sydney Oct. 6 £A265. In Fiji early Oct.. trochus was being bought at 1/9 Fijian per lb (equal to £FI96 per ton. in store.

GREEN SNAIL SHELL.-Because of a dem and from Japan price has risen to £A375 per ton and is firm. P-N-G. and B .g.i. shell is in short supply. One

Sydney agent, 1.C.E.P., 299 Kent St., says he could place a quantity of second and third grade.

London and US Quotations

Copra: London, Oct. 6, Philippines, in bulk. $265 per ton, c.i.f., UK/Nth. Euro pean port. Straits/Borneo, FMS, delivered weights, c.i.f. UK/Nth. European port, £ Stg.94. New York, Oct. 6. Philippines, $240, c.i.f., Pacific coast port. (£1 Australian is equal to about 2.25 US Dollars.) Coconut Oil: London, Oct. 6, Ceylon, in bulk, £Stg.l47 per ton, c.i.f., UK/North European port. Straits crude, £Stg.l36/10c.i.f.

Rubber: London, c.i.f., Oct. 6, RSS No. 1 32%d Stg. per lb; Oct.-Nov.. 28%d Stfi..: Scot ioro, 29 J / 4 d Stg.