[?]Ands Produce

ess otherwise stated, quotations are stralian currency. Aust. £ equals ;imately 16/- Stg.. NZ, or W. ; 18/- Fiji; 20/- Tonga, Solomons HC areas; 196 Pac. Frs.; $U52.25.)

Copra

UA-NEW GUINEA: —Ail production ivered to Copra Marketing Board, lied by six members, including three rs’ representatives: and the Board l distribution and sales, and makes nts to the producers. Production aainly to (a) Unilever, in UK, (b) lia for local consumption, (c) ag-mill in Rabaul, and (d) Japan is as available). Prices generally nth ruling rate in Philippines, with ims for hot-air dried. 3 Board’s Tentative Purchase for copra delivered main ports are: r Dried, £AS4/10/- per ton; FMS, per ton; Smoke-Dried, £AS2 per :—No Government control —prosell where they wish. Bulk of goes to crushine-mills in Suva, gust 17 prices were HAD £F46/5/-, F43/15/-.

STERN SAMOA; —Official Copra takes all production, sells same lakes payments to producers. It aainly to Abels Ltd., NZ crushers, 0 Unilever, UK. Local price, re in July, was £56/12/6 Samoan, ;rade.

GA: —Sales are under Government I. Part of production goes to i, under arrangement with Unilever lied by Philippines prices, and part open market.

DMON IS.: —All production marketed h official BSI Copra Board, at based on Philippines rates. Output to Unilever, UK; to Australian rs; and the balance on to the open ). Local price in August was: Ist £46/-/-: 2nd grade. £44/10/-; ade, £42/-/- per ton, f.0.b., BSIP (Honiara, Yandina and Gizo).

BERT AND ELLICE: —Production ied in Europe through official Copra at prices based on Philippines ess freight, etc. The Govt, recently sed the subsidy to producers to: '5 per ton for Ist grade, and '1 for 2nd grade. r HEBRIDES:—On Aug. 1. the price was approximately £A36/10/- Pac. francs) per ton delivered into. French price then was BOV2 1 francs per metric ton, c.i.f., lies.

K IS.: Copra goes to Abels, Ltd., ckland, who operate the only NZ prushing mill. Price paid is average I price for previous three months, landling charges. Price for third r of 1962 is £NZSI/19/8 Ist [ £NZSO/14/8 standard grade—both Rarotonga.

Other Produce

OA;—lslands prices are usually on the rates for Ghana cocoa which ig. 20 was steady at £Stg.l66/5/n, c.i.f., Sydney. •G.; Sydney buyers on Aug 17 re- K Quote No. 1: In store, Rabaul, [quality £205 per ton; quote No. 2: [Uality, on wharf Syd.. Melb., vary ■om £2OO to £214 Aust.; in store, ports, £l9B Aust.

SAMOA: —Nominal prices quoted in 7 in mid-Aug. were: Grade 1. 255: grade 2. £Stg.24o, f.0.b,, Apia.

COFFEE.—P.-N.G.: Aug. 20, good quality A grade, per lb, 4/- to 4/2; B grade, 4/-; C grade. 2/6 to 3/-, c.i.f., Sydney.

Overseas c.i.f. coffee prices were re ported on Aug. 20 as: Kenya A. f.a.q.. £Stg.37s, B £ 5tg.335, C £Stg.32s; U/G £ Stg.2Bs; Tanganyika AA £ Stg.3Bo, A £ 5tg.365, B £ 5tg.325; Buguishu AA £Stg.3oo; Uganda Robusta £Stg.ls6.

PEANUTS: P.N.G.; Sydney agents quoted Aug. 20:—F.0.b.. Lae; Kernels— White Spanish. 1/4 lb; Red Spanish, 1/2; Virginia Bunch, 1/7, in shell 1/1.

RUBBER:—P.-N.G. price is based on Singapore rate, which on Aug. 17 was: No. 1 RSS. Spot, 73 7/8 Straits cents per lb (25.76 d Aust.).

VANILLA BEANS: Victor Karp Tulk & Co.. Sydney, reported Aug. 17: White and yellow label processed, standard packs, 46/-. green label 45/-, c.i.f., Sydney.

RICE (Aust.): Prices as from May 1, 1962—P.-N.G.; Dry brown and dressed. 112 lb bags, 5 tons and over, £59/- - per ton, f.0.w.; under 5 tons £59/10 -. Vitamised and enriched white, 112 lb bags. 5 tons and over, £65/15 f.0.w.. under 5 tons, £66/5/-. Other Pac. Islands; Dry, white or brown, etc., £67/10/- (any quantity), f.0.w., Sydney or Melbourne.

PEARL SHELL. —Quotations for Aus tralian M.O.P. Shell in mid-August by Sydney independent shell agents were; Sound £ A 825, D £ASSO, E £A3OO, EE £AI9O (in store Sydney). Cook Islands; Penrhyn £NZSOO (approx.), f.0.b., Raro tonga.

TROCHUS. Sydney buyers quota tions to Islands producers: No. 1. —Papua— nominally £l2O-£125 per ton. f.0.b..

Papuan ports; N.G. — £lO5-£llO, c.i.f., Sydney: 8.5.1. — £llO. f.0.b., Honiara. No. 2. —Papua—£9o per ton; N.G., 8.5.1. £95 per ton.

GREEN SNAIL SHELL.—Sydney buyers quoted on Aug. 17: No. 1: £295-£3OO per ton, f.0.b., Islands port. No. 2: £2BO (best quality), on wharf, Sydney.

Crocodile Skins—On Aug 20

Sydney buyers’ quote for 12 in. and over, first grade quality was: P.-N.G. —16/- per In., f.o.b. P-NG port, small scale •vater); large scale (fresh water) 10/- per in. 8.5.1.—16/- per in. (small scale) del. Sydney.

A report from Pt. Moresby during the month said that an Austrian buyer had arrived in P.-N.G. to purchase 26,000 crocodile skins (worth over £250,000) by the end of the year.

PAPUAN GUM: £B2/15/- f.o.b. Island port.

BECHE-DE-MER: Chang Sing Loong Co., Suva, quote F 2- to F 4- lb for well processed commercial varieties.

SHARK FINS: Suva mechants offer F 3 - per lb for well-dried fins of com mercial quality.

London and US Quotations

Copra: LONDON, Aug. 20. Philippines, in bulk, $161.50 US per long ton, c.i.f., UK/ Nth. European ports. Malayan, FMS, delivered weights, c.i.f. UK/Nth. European ports, £ Stg.s9 per long ton. NEW YORK: Aug. 20, Philippines $147.50 US per short ton, c.i.f., Pacific Coast ports.

CEYLON: 780 Rupees per ton c.i.f.

Coconut Oil: LONDON, Aug. 20, Ceylon, 1% in bulk, £ Stg.BB per ton. c.i.f., UK/North European ports. Straits, 3%, £Stg.B2/10/-, c.i.f.

Rubber: LONDON, Aug. 17, c.i.f.. RSS No. 1 Spot, 22d. Stg. Ib (nominal); Sept, shipment 22d. Stg. lb, Aug. shipment 21 15/16d. Stg. lb. (£1 Australian is equal to about 2.25 US Dollars or 10V2 Rupees).