Continues To
p. 74 · Read in the full issue
Copra Market
Be Brighter
A slight decline in the tota world production of oil and fai raw materials should ensure i continuation of current gooc prices for copra for at least an other 12 months. r THE trend for the last year or sc has been for prices to rise, noi spectacularly, but slowly so there ha< been no violent fluctuation through sudden demand or unexpected glut It s all been good news to the South Pacific, where copra in most places is the backbone of the economy.
Throughout July there was a firm ing tendency on the London market except right at the end, when there was a slight drop. The drop was in keeping with trends which have showed regular small rises for weeks on end, and then slightly lower prices tor a week or so before the next series of small increases.
August showed a small firming tendency on the July rates. . Rate s current in August were with ih ■£-20 of the inflation rates of late 1958 when there was a world short age. But that shortage was followed by a glut and a drop in price of more than £4O a ton within a few months The Papua-New Guinea Copra Marketing Board in its August re port said that at least one of the reasons for the maintenance of the relatively high prices was a typhoon which swept over the Philippines at the end of June.
Although concentrated mainly over the northern part of the islands and having little effect on the main producing areas in the centre and south, it disrupted shipping and com munications, and delayed arrivals in the northern ports and later shipment of the copra to the overseas markets in the first half of July.
Additional information from Europe shows that Philippines ex ports of both copra and coconut oil declined in the first six months of 1964. In June the shipment totalled 43,600 tons (23,550 tons for Europe and the rest for the United States) against 65,500 tons in June, 1963/ Forecasts based on weather prevail ing during the last few months sug gests that copra output in the Philip pines area will continue to decline till September or October.