Copra: Still No Cause For Joy

There was never more than a few shillings fluctuation in the London c.i.f. price of Philippines copra during May. This resulted in an average price of £Stg. 6o, which will be used by the Papua-New Guinea Copra Marketing Board for basing its price to producers thti month.

Although 25 /-Stg. above the average price for the previous month, it is still a long way from the level at which planters are likely to tun hand-springs.

About 18 months ago, we said in PIM that there was ample prow that manufacturers could now, with the help of chemists, make margarim out of almost anything. And they seem, in recent months, to be leaning over backwards to drive this point home.

As a complete reversal of the situation of a little over a year agd coconut oil is now the lowest priced of all edible oils. According U figures isued in early June by Mr. lan McDonald, Chairman of the P-NG CMB, the price index for coconut oil is down by about 20 pei cent, in comparison with a year ago, while the once less-favoured oil like soya and cottonseed are up by a similar amount.

However, whatever immediate gloom these figures seem to portend it is impossible to believe that, in the long term, there is not an assure( place for copra. The population explosion, if nothing else, should takx care of that.