Islands Produck

(Unless otherwise stated, quotatlo in Australian currency. Aust £ approximately 16/- stg.. NZ . wp Fij V 20/ * Tonffa - So,on HPHC areas; 196 Pac. Frs.; SUS 2

Copra

The British Ministry of Food 1 Contract, which governed Copra m Papua and New Guinea, Fiji, Sa,m° a Soiomon Islands, and Gllbe Ellice Colony (and. to some exte Tonga and Cook Islands) expired c cember 31. 1957; since when each tory has made its own arrangemen collection and marketing of copra.

. Papua-New Guinea:—Aii Prod

is delivered to Copra Marketing controlled by six members, including planters representatives; and the directs distribution and sales, and payments to the producers Prod goes mainly to (a) Unilever (undei tract covering i 960), (b) Australia ocal consumption) and (c) crushin in Rabaul. Prices generally arrang accordance with ruling rate in Philii market, with premiums for hot-air From July 1 ( 1959 p. NG Board’s Tentative Purchase Prices copra delivered main ports: Hot-Air ' £A72/10/- per ton; FMS, £A7I per Smoke-Dried, £A7O per ton.

FIJI:—No Government control—proc sell where they wish. Bulk of copra to crushing-mill in Suva, whose on wharf. Suva, is announced each On Feb. 8 prices were: HAD £F7B'

£F76/12/6; Fm2, £F7S/7/6.

WESTERN SAMOA:—Official < Board receives all production, and same and makes payments to prodi P r °P° rtl on goes to Unilevei Philippines PM grade rates, plus miums up to £S3 per ton for air dried. Prices unaltered since M 1959; Hot-air dried, £867/13/8 per sun-dried No. 1. £S6S/3/8; sun- No. 2. £B6l/13/8.

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

SOLOMONS:—AII production marl through official Copra Board, at p based on Philippines market. Price dared for February: Ist grade, £AB6; grade, £AB4/10/-; 3rd grade, £AB2 per f.0.b., BSIP ports.

Gilbert And Ellice:—Produi

marketed in Europe through official C Board, at prices based on Philipt rates, less “stabilisation fund” cha etc.

E. SAMOA:—Producers receive 6 cent ($U5134.4 or £A6O/5/- approx, per ton). Periodic bonus, if average proc exceed Govt, buying price and expense NEW HEBRIDES:— Price was appr mately £A7O/10/- per ton delivered \ Santo on Jan. 13.

Cook Is./Niue/Tokelau: Subject

the provisions of the copra contract tween the Cook Islands-Niue-Toke! shippers and Abels, Ltd., of Aucklt who operate the only New Zealand cc crushing mill, the price for the sec half of 1959 was £NZBS/8/9 for F Grade, and £NZB4/3/9 for stand Grade, per ton, in sacks, f.o.b. Raroton Niue/Apia.

Other Produce

UA:— Islands prices are based on the nr Ghana cocoa which on Feb. 4, EStg 227/10/- per ton, c.1.f., Sydney.

SAMOA: —Nominal price quoted in early Feb. £S2IO f.0.b., Apia.

Jl; £S2OS, grade 2. )G • Feb. 8, quote No. 1 £A26O - Sydney: quote No. 2 (top quality). ■"FEE:—P.-N.G.: Feb. 5, good quality He per lb, 4/- to 4/5%; B grade, 4/3%; C grade, 3/11 to 4/2 c.1.f.. jarly Feb. price quoted for Tanga- A grade was £Stg.37s; B grade, il60; Undergradings, £Stg.26s, all :,n and c.i.f.. Sydney. Uganda Ro was offering at approx. £Stg.l76 Sydney.

'NUTS; P.-N.G., Feb. 8, kernels: and Red Spanish 1/6% lb; Virginia „ 1/7 Vn (no recent sales). ;BER: —P.-N.G. price is based on oore rate, which on Feb. 4 was: RSS, spot, IHVa Straits cents per .25d Aust.).

ILL A BEANS: Victor Karp, Tulk & Sydney, advised Feb. 9 that their agent reported “no stocks available “sent”.

IE (Australian):— Price from May 1.

P.-N.G.: Dry brown and dressed, j bags, 5 tons and over, £6l/10/kon, f.0.w.: under 5 tons £62 per Vitamised and enriched white, 112 gs, 5 tons and over. £6B per ton, ; under 5 tons. £6B/10/- per ton.

Pac. Islands: Dry, brown, etc., £7O ton f.0.w., Sydney or Melbourne. iRL SHELL.— Firm quotations in Feb. dependent M.O.P. shell agents were: 1 £ AB5O, D £ A6OO, E £A3OO, EE 0 (in store Sydney). Penrhyn .400 (nominal), f.0.b., Rarotonga, hiki; It is anticipated that because of toor price of mother-of-pearl blacklip and the high price of copra, the Cook ds Administration will again declare hiki lagoon closed to divers for 1960, ;hird year in succession, to give the beds a further opportunity to re •ate. N.G.: Blacklip M.O.P. sales at per ton were made in Sydney re y- OCHUS.—Little demand nominal c.i.f. Sydney, Feb. 5, £250. iEEN SNAIL SHELL.—Good demand Japan, has raised price to £A4OS A4lO per ton. P.-N.G. and 8.5.1. shell in short supply.

London and US Quotations

pra: London, Feb. 4, Philippines, in , $255 per long ton, c.i.f., UK/North pean ports. Straits/Borneo, FMS, de ed weights, c.i.f. UK/Nth. European 3 £Stg.9l per long ton. New York, 4, Philippines, $240 US per short c.i.f., Pacific coast port. ‘1 Australian is equal to about 2.25 Dollars.) rconut Oil: London, Feb. 4, Ceylon, in , £Stg.l3B per ton, c.i.f., UK/North »pean ports. Straits crude, g. 133/10/- c.i.f. ibber; London, c.i.f.. Feb. 4 RSS No. pot 34%d Stg. per lb; Jan., 1960, 32d ; Feb., 1960, 33V 4 d Stg. b is expected that the Tabia

*keti Road on Vanua Levu, Fiji,

imenced in 1954, will be com bed by the end of 1960, and at a

t substantially below the original

[mate.

The World Coffee Industry

-'HE Pan-American Coffee Bureau, in a review, recently published, says the most significant general developments in the world coffee industry during the past couple of years have been; (1) A continuous rise in production, ac companied by (2) a further decline m prices, (3) a marked decrease in the foreign exchange earnings of coffee producing countries, particularly those in large degree dependent upon coffee for such earnings, (4) a modification of the Brazilian exchange-rate system which per mitted coffee exporters to receive more cruzeiros per unit of foreign currency, thereby placing lower - grade Brazilian coffees on a more competitive basis with those of Africa, and changes in certain other exchange-rate systems, (5) an in crease in coffee consumption but by only a small proportion of the increment to production or to carry-overs, (6) a ten dency of roasters and importers to minimise their working inventories of green coffee, and, for the first time, inter governmental discussions in Washington of world coffee problems at which representa tives of both coffee-producing and coffee importing countries, including the United States, particularly, attended.

Out of those discussions came the Latin American Coffee Agreement, a side agree ment between the French and Portuguese, and the formal creation of a Coffee Study Group—made up of representatives of European, African, and Latin American Countries and the United States —to pre pare studies and recommendations designed to cope with world coffee problems in the years ahead.

Fiji is Extending

Its Cocoa Plantings

COCOA production in Fiji has not yet reached the stage of commercial ex ports, but since planting on a com mercial scale began in 1953 the areas have been steadily expanded to about 1,800 acres with a further 400 acres added last year, according to the latest annual report of the Fiji Department of Agriculture.

The areas so far established consist of 46 blocks of more than 10 acres, mainly Fijian owned, and some 250 acres of estate plantings, mostly in the Southern District and Taveuni.

The early varieties tended to have a flavour rather milder than those most in demand commercially but stronger flavoured varieties are now being estab lished—the West African Amelonado notably.

It is now proposed to extend the plant ings to other islands —Koro, Ovalau, Kadavu, and to the Wainunu area of Vanua Levu.

Farmers are given up to 600 seedlings free of charge, and are also given advice on the preparation of the land, care and maintenance of the crop, and eventually on the fermentation, drying, and marketing The Government is establishing a cocoa experimental station at Naduruloulou, near Nausori, and another at Navavusavu, on Vanua Levu. Research into fertilisers, processing of the beans, and other aspects of the industry will be handled there.

A demonstration fermentary of a type within the means of the small farmer has been established at Naduruloulou and others will be erected at Wailevu, Cakau drove and Taveuni.

To “make sure’’ that a good reputation is established for Fiji cocoa right from the outset, the Department will handle the processing and marketing until export standards have been established and satis factory marketing arrangements evolved.