Panese Bring Interest To
pp. 21-147 · Read in the full issue
Fiji Copra Market
new element has entered the Fiji copra industry that makes for erahle local interest and, from some angles, a little tension.
Japanese firm of Banno hers, which was established *onga before the war, and ■e recently been operating mostly in shipping man re. has begun buying local i result of this, Island In- Ltd., a subsidiary of W. R. r and Co. Ltd., has ceased ' their buying prices (which i they declared each week) ocal Press. Evidently it is id that this helped the Jap n in fixing a price, although ilikely that the Japanese ave too much trouble in ut what the local crushing aying. Nor is it likely that ild want to pay more than rice” anyway.
Others, Too
Sieved that there are other interests with represent- Fiji; but they would have difficult task than Banno ho have their own ships :rading between Suva and arrying ore. It is expected 7 will “top up” their main ore with the copra they lent, they are buying copra , Suva. It is unlikely that le big firms who engage in ►ping would carry the copra outer plantations for them; possible that they could, were interested enough, independent small vessels ic job for them, or even something of their own. he end of the UK Ministry copra agreement in 1957, ters have been free to sell
their copra where they wished. They have, in the event, sold almost ex clusively to the local copra crushing mill. Theoretically, by thus having all their eggs in one basket, Fiji
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have been rather more fie than planters in other Pacific Territories where /eminent Copra Boards have al copra over a wider field, iji planters, by selling to the ,ve actually done very well and over the last 21 years obably come out of the deal little better financially than cpmVi ptp then, should anyone want ge? One suggested reason is ,nno Bros, are paying cash /ery; and, as over half of ipra is produced by Fijians, a certain amount of appeal, rts of loyalties and prejudices dragged into this develop but none is relevant to business practice, g the long view, old observers say it is probably not a bad bat Fiji should have some ive avenue of disposing of f its copra. Just how seri i Japanese firm is, is not This may be simply an ex y move, which may or may elop further.