Islands Product

(Unless otherwise stated, quotation in Australian currency. Aust. £ approximately 16/- Stg., NZ, o Samoa; 18/- FIJI; 20/- Tonga, Solom WPHC areas; 196 Pac. Frs.; SUS 2.

Copra

The British Ministry of Food 0 Contract, which governed Copra in Papua and New Guinea, Fiji, W' Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Ollber Ellice Colony (and. to some exter Tonga and Cook Islands) expired oi cember 31, 1957; since when each 1 tory has made its own arrangement collection and marketing of copra.

Papua-New Guinea;—Aii Prodi

is delivered to Copra Marketing I controlled by six members, including planters’ representatives; and the : directs distribution and sales, and i payments to the producers. Prod; goes mainly to (a) Unilever (under tract covering 1960), (b) Australia local consumption) and (c) crushlnj in Rabaul. Prices generally arrangt accordance with ruling rate in Philip market, with premiums for hot-air i Prom July 1, 1959, P-NG < Board’s Tentative Purchase Prices, copra delivered main ports: Hot-Air I £A72/10/- per ton; FMS, £A7I per Smoke-Dried, £A7O per ton.

FIJI: —No Government control—prod sell where they wish. Bulk of copra to crushing-mill in Suva, whose on wharf, Suva, is announced each On Jan. 11 prices were: HAD, £F7S

Fmi, £P77/15/-; Fm2, £F76/10/-.

WESTERN SAMOA:—Official C Board receives all production, and same and makes payments to prodi Large proportion goes to Unilever Philippines FM grade rates, plus miums up to £S3 per ton for

ilried Prices unaltered since March, Hot-air dried, £867/13/8 per ton; 'dried No. 1, £S6S/3/8; sun-dried ■2, £B6l/13/8. »NGA:—Sales are under Government rol. Part of production goes to Europe, •r arrangement with Unilever con ed by Philippines prices, and part ,o open market.

DLOMONS:—AII production marketed ugh official Copra Board, at prices i on Philippines market. Price de id for December; Ist grade, £AB3; 2nd e, £ A 81; 3rd grade, £A77 per ton, BSIP ports.

XBERT AND ELLlCE:—Production keted in Europe through official Copra rd, at prices based on Philippines s, less “stabilisation fund” charges, SAMOA:— Producers receive 6 cents lb. 5134.4 or £A6O/5/- approx, per long . Periodic bonus, if average proceeds ed Govt, buying price and expenses. 1W HEBRIDES:—Price was approxi ;ly £ A 64 per ton delivered Vila/ o on Dec. 22. On Dec. 31, price was iOO Metrop. francs per metric ton, c.i.f. seilles. )OK IS /NIUE/TOKELAU: Subject to provisions of the copra contract he rn the Cook Islands-Niue-Tokelaus pers and Abels, Ltd., of Auckland, operate the only New Zealand copra hing mill, the price for the second of 1959 was £NZBS/8/9 for First ie, and £NZB4/3/9 for Standard ie. per ton, in sacks, f.o.b. Rarotonga/ /Apia.

Other Produce

)COA: —Islands prices are based on the for Ghana cocoa which, on Jan. 7, £ 5tg.233/10/- per ton, c.i.f., Sydney. . SAMOA:—Nominal price quoted in ley early Jan., £5245 f.0.b., Apia, le 1; £5235, grade 2. -N.G.: Jan. 8, quote No. 1 £A3OS ex rf Sydney; quote No. 2 £A3OO. )FFEE: —P.-N.G.: Jan. 8, good quality :rade, per lb, 4/2 to 4/4; B grade, to 4/3; C grade, 4/-, c.i.f., Sydney. early Jan. price quoted for Tanga a A grade was £Stg.36s; B grade, g. 355; Undergradings, £ 5tg.265, all ton and c.i.f., Sydney. Uganda Ro a was offering at approx. £Stg.lB7 . Sydney.

SANUTS: P.-N.G., Jan. 8, kernels; te Spanish 1/6y 2 lb; Virginia Bunch, (no recent sales).

LIBBER: —P.-N.G. price is based on :apore rate, which Jan. 7 had dropped No. 1 RSS, spot, 115% Straits cents per 41.25 d Aust.).

INILLA BEANS: Victor Karp. Tulk & Sydney, advised Jan. 8 that their iti agent reported “no stocks available sw season’s crop all going to France”.

ICE (Australian):—Price from May 1, I —P.-N.G.: Dry brown and dressed, lb bags, 5 tons and over, £6l/10/ton, f.0.w.; under 5 tons £62 per Vitamised and enriched white, 112 jags, 5 tons and over. £6B per ton, v.; under 5 tons. £6B/10/- per ton. er Pac. Islands: Dry, brown, etc., £7O ton f.0.w., Sydney or Melbourne.

EARL SHELL.—Firm quotations in Jan. independent M.O.P. shell agents were: nd £ AB5O, D £A6OO, E £A3OO, EE 200 (in store Sydney). Penrhyn ;g.400 (nominal), f.0.b., Rarotonga, ilhiki lagoon is still closed.

ROCHUS. —Little demand nominal e c.i.f. Sydney, Jan. 8, £260.

REEN SNAIL SHELL.—Strong demand, ticularly from Japan, has raised the

price to £A4OO per ton. P.-N.G. and 8.5.1. shell still in short supply.

London and US Quotations

Copra: London, Jan. 7, Philippines, in bulk, $229 per long ton, c.i.f., UK/North European ports. Straits/Borneo, FMS, de livered weights, c.i.f. UK/Nth. European ports. £ Stg.93 per long ton. New York.

Dec. 3, Philippines. $247.50 US per short ton, c.i.f., Pacific coast port. (£1 Australian is equal to about 2.25 US Dollars.) Coconut Oil: London, Jan. 7, Ceylon, in bulk, £ Stg.l4l per ton, c.i.f.. UK/North European ports. Straits crude, £Stg.l33/10/- c.i.f.

Rubber: London, c.i.f., Jan. 7, RSS No. 1, Spot 34y 4 d Stg. per lb; Jan., 1960, 33y 2 d Stg.; Jan./Mar., 1960, 33V 8 d Stg.

London Cocoa Position

LONDON.—According to reports there are some hundreds of tons of New Guinea cocoa in store in the United Kingdom, which is looking for buyers that aren't forthcoming.

About three well-known plantations in NG have firm orders with two of the big chocolate manufacturers here, but those producers who sent their cocoa to brokers here just on spec, are not doing much good.

UK manufacturers won’t readily depart from established formulae, based on cocoa from other countries; New Guinea cocoa, except in the few cases mentioned above, don’t come up to their requirements.

One opinion expressed here is that NG types would be more acceptable in Ger many or Switzerland where manufacturers already use types similar to NG to pro

duce “dark” chocolate. In the UK “milk” form of eating chocolate is popular one.