For Coconut Planters

South Seas Should Look to the North

London Predicts Lean Time

Prom Judy Tudor, in London South Pacific copra producers who are currently having a lean may he in for an even leaner one in the next year. At least, s the opinion of London experts.

Y base their view on the fact lat all other alternative vege- Dils will be in abundant supply, give as just one example of this per cent, increase in soya bean :tion in the United States, the same time, the Mediter i countries are expected to have iper olive crop; Nigeria, which he world in production of palm dm kernel oil and groundnuts, tected to carry on the good while the contribution of the to both departments—small tion to the rest of West Africa till coming through in spite of tongo troubles”. the animal-oil front, new ’s whale oil is expected to be jndant supply before that of ;ason’s is entirely cleared; cer .atm-American countries, not eru, are producing more edible om anchovies than they can

reasonably expect to export; and the same thing is being done with other small fish in the Northern Hemis phere.

Probably when the recent history of copra comes to be written it will be seen that the extraordinary boom in copra prices in 1959-60, which considerably enlarged South Pacific Islands planters’ bank accounts, was a great misfortune to the industry at that time.

In theory, any vegetable oil can be substituted for another in the pro duction of margarine and edible fats.

In practice, the boys who actually have the job of doing it are reluctant to change formulae —but, once having done it, they are just as reluctant to change back. The change-over prob ably takes six months and that change from coconut oil took place during 1959-60 when copra prices were hit ting new records.

The industry in UK and the Continent then became geared to al ternative oils, and short of some panic shortage in those oils, it is going to be very difficult for copra to get back into the picture to the degree that producers would like.

Here in the United Kingdom, quite apart from the relative cost of the raw materials, groundnut (peanut) oil is favoured for the manufacture of mar garine. This gives the product that appeals most to the consumer —and that, of course, in the ultimate analysis, is what matters to the pro ducer.

In UK and the Continent, Unilever is dominant in the vegetable oil mar ket, to the extent that the require ments of even its nearest rival are small beside those of this vast firm.

What Unilever does and thinks, there fore, cannot help but be of interest to the South Pacific copra producer.

I remember, in the Depression of the 1930’5, when Unilever was always thought of as a forked-tailed octopus, if such an animal is possible; and it was alleged about them that they dealt in all vegetable oils in order to manipulate one against another and

so keep the prices at a low level.

Today we have got a much more realistic idea of the whole situation and call it by a much politer name— that is, “interchangeability”.

The end products of Unilever and their rivals—that is, margarine, soap, washing powders and liquids—have above everything else to be cheap and to be within the reach of the lowest income group. It is obviously of little interest to the housewife whether Nigerian groundnuts or New Guinea copra go into these products—to them it’s the ha’ penny off that matters.

It can be regarded, therefore, as only normal business practice that the manufacturers of those products use the raw material that will give the consumer what she wants while still maintaining profits.

Probably what was not fully realised in the copra depression of the ’3o’s was the advances made by science in making almost any vege table or animal oil suitable for use in table or cooking margarine and fats. Even linseed oil has been made into margarine, experimentally; and oil from such a high-smelling com modity as anchovies can be success fully deodorised for the same pur pose.

All this being so, and “interchange ability” being accepted as an un pleasant fact, what is the future of South Pacific copra? Today, in London, I asked the question of Mr.

J. C. A. Faure, Unilever executive who is well-known in the Pacific.

According to Mr. Faure, the long term outlook is reasonably good so long as the Islands producer does not look continually to the UK and Europe. The expansion of the Pacific market, he thinks, should be in the direction of the Far East —to Japan and China, particularly.

He does not think that the market that South Pacific copra has already got in Europe will be unduly affected, if and when England is accepted into the Common Market —about which event he seems to entertain doubts The matter of duties, or lack of

months ago Solomon Islands boy, [?]nly child of a Solomon Islands couple, d Mrs. Joseph Koilong, was flown to under the care of TAA hostess. Miss [?]lcFarlane, for on operation at the Royal [?]ra Hospital for Children. Andy suffered [?]le hare lip and a cleft palate. The [?]n was successful and Andy should be fly home very soon now almost com pletely cured.

s, would work both ways and ountries which stand to lose out le vegetable oil market, in the of the Inner Six becoming the Seven, would then likely be 0 and Indonesia, both of whom cut their ties with their old 3ean partners. e tremendous population in ;s in China and Japan, plus a standard of living, make them tentially important market not for edible oils but for washing 5. interesting to know that al ii just after the war the story hat South Pacific copra was use inless it was of such a high that it could be used in mar !, copra is now being used ex ely in detergents. :ergents work just as well with thering—but the housewife likes with her washing liquid or sr, and demands it. This the facturer obligingly supplies, and athering agent is very readily factured from copra.

How Chairman Sees the SW Pacific ilever chairman, Mr. G. J. Cole, leted a visit to Australasia, Port >by and the Solomons and ar back in London at the end of This was his first trip to that of the world and although he mpressed by the up-and-coming and what he called “almost :onfidence” of the Australians, isn’t inclined to express the same lents about the BSIP, where his any has a very small piece of empire. s the company’s intention hence he said, to plough such profits make there back into the Pro ate. And, as I understand it, fen went to the extraordinary 1 of intimating to the BSIP urer that they would not mind taxed more heavily if they I help the BSIP over some of ore difficult financial troubles— ution that probably doesn’t get far, as it is suspected that the amount made in tax would be ted from the Colonial Develop and Welfare Fund grant. . Cole was not happy over the r position in the BSIP either— blem that has been a continuing iince the end of World War II 1 with many other people who had to make do with short contract labour in the S.W. c, feels that it needs a com y new approach and a new line nought. He thinks that Nigeria lot to teach us in the South ic about these labour problems.