Cuba's Political Frenzy

Could Benefit Fiji

. Jj l6 dispute in Fiji, which still was dead

ON July 6, USA retaliated upon the Castro Communist Govern ment’s seizure of Anglo-Ameri can properties in Cuba by summarily cancelling the balance of the con tract under which Cuba supplies USA with sugar.

This meant that USA had to look elsewhere for about 740,000 tons of sugar, which normally Cuba would supply. USA was looking to other Central American countries, and to the Philippines.

On July 8, a high official of the CSR Co. left Sydney by air for USA.

Obviously, CSR Co. was making an effort to sell much of Australia’s surplus sugar and, almost cer

tainly, Fiji’s surplus sugar.

At this moment, in Fiji, there is a bumper, uncut crop of cane esti mated to hold 300,000 tons of raw sugar. Hitherto, the company has been unable to con f emplate crush ing more than two-thirds of it.

Also, lying under tarpaulins at Lautoka, there is a veritable mountain of raw sugar—*aid to be between 85,000 and 100,000 tons—a carryover from the bumper season of 1959.

A sale of a large additional quantity of Fiji’s raw sugar would greatly change the outlook in that Colony. (See “Fiji Sugar Deadlock”, page 29)

This huge stack of sur plus raw sugar, covered by tarpaulins, was photographed in a field at Lautoka in June.