SPSM-Considering

"Good" Response To SPSM-Considering

THE response by the public of Fiji to South Pacific Sugar Mills’ invitation to take up shares in the company hardly came up to expecta tions.

SPSM offered to sell 5 million 57shares to the public at par, and the number bought was about 800,000 — purchased by more than 1,700 resi dents.

It is understood that SPSM will not reopen its share offer, which closed in February after an extension from January. The 4.2 million shares not taken up are the property of the CSR. Some observers feel that more shares would be sold if the

offer were left open, but it would be highly unlikely that the entire parcel could be sold.

The fact that such a large pro portion of the shares were not bought is not seen as showing lack of confidence in the company but rather as indicating a wrong estimate of the quantity of shares Fiji resi dents would be able to absorb.

The chairman of SPSM, Mr. H.

G. Nicholls, said in Sydney in April that among the applicants for shares were villagers from remote Lau, Yasawa and Macuata areas.

The response was very good, tak ing into consideration the widespread applications and the large number of people involved, he added.

It is certainly true that the people of Fiji do not have much money; and they need what they have for day-to-day requirements. There is little investment capital about.

It was the first share issue of any magnitude made available to local residents, many of whom were extremely naive about what was in volved.

For example, one of many questions was: “Will I have to put this amount (price of the shares) in every year?”

SPSM in their invitation to the public to take up shares indicated payment of an annual dividend at the rate of 7i per cent, “provided present circumstances continue”.

A payment of li per cent, on the 800,000 new shares is in fact expected as first dividend. As it happens, the millers have been saved large dividend pay-outs at a time when sugar prices are not as buoyant as they were.

SPSM decided to make the share offer to Fiji residents as a result of a recommendation made by the Trustram Eve Commission in 1961.

Big Nickel Contract

With Red China

IT has been officially announced that New Caledonia’s Societe le Nickel has contracted with Communist China for the sale of 9,300 tons of refined nickel (nickel metal). The contract specifies delivery over four years and has a value of 100 million francs. (This would be about £500,000 if the sum were Pacific francs but this was not specified).

First delivery is to be made this year and will be 2,200 tons.

The quantity contracted may be in creased at the request of Communist China if thought necessary.

It is the first long-term contract made by Communist China with a Western country.

Tariff Inquiry Opens

Info NG Coffee

THE New Guinea Highland Farmers’ and Settlers’ Association so far is not meeting much opposi tion to its application for continued protection for New Guinea coffee on the Australian market.

The Tariff Board opened an in quiry into the industry at Sydney on April 22, and will continue it at Goroka and Port Moresby in May, and will have a further sitting at Sydney on June 10.

The association’s case, presented by the president, Mr. lan Downs, was supported by the Territories Depart ment, the P-NG Administration, a group of Sydney coffee marketers (the New Guinea Coffee Agents’

Association) and Nestles.

Firms which opposed the applica tion agreed that protection should continue, but asked that the duty be eased so that imported coffee could compete with NG coffee.

One of these firms was Tenco, a division of Coca-Cola Ltd., which sent a vice-president Mr. Ernest Griffith, from Ontario, Canada, to present its case.

Mr. Griffith told the board his firm recognised there was an urgent need to develop export markets for P-NG green coffees, and would agree to a duty arrangement based on a con ditional use of those coffees when they were available.

Tenco asked that: • Import duty on instant coffee should not exceed three times the amount of duty applicable to imports of green coffee. 9 Instant coffee be allowed duty free entry whenever equal amounts in net weight of P-NG green coffees had been bought by the exporter con cerned.

The M.J.B. Co., of San Francisco, represented at the inquiry by Robur Tea Co. Ltd., sought a reduction in the rate of duty in Australia on soluble coffee.

With their request the M.J.B. Co. and Robur Tea sought to establish a basis by which markets in other countries could be developed and en larged for coffee produced in New Guinea.

Mr. Downs, asking that there be no

change in the present rates of duty, introduced after a similar inquiry in 1961, said that the coffee year ended September 30, 1964, New Guinea coffee production was about 7,792 tons, of which 3,992 tons went to Australia, and 3,800 tons of over seas markets.

His association was conscious of the need not to over-produce coffee in New Guinea, not only because of the International Coffee Agreement, but because of the trend towards world over-production.

Within the Highlands there had been a deliberate and effective diversification into tea and pyrethrum.

That was forecast in 1962.

The population and areas fully dependent on coffee were still very significant in relation to the total Territory population. The associa tion estimated the number of persons concerned at 600,000 in the Central Highlands, Morobe D’strict and the

Huon Peninsula. Export earnings for coffee at present ranked third after copra and cocoa.

“In many cases the coffee field worker is also a coffee farmer and derives a dual source of income as well as farmer training when working for a larger population”, Mr. Downs said. In the Chimbu area there was a wholly indigenous-owned co operative which bought and processed coffee from smallholders, producing about 1,000 tons of raw export coffee.

The Highlands Farmers’ and Settlers’ Association had admitted a wholly indigenous branch at Kun diawa.

The whole of the Highlands was now capable of providing adequate collection and processing of all small holders’ coffee and strong trading competition had made that side of the industry healthy from the indigenous point of view.

There were now 10 major organ isations wholly concerned with the collection, purchase and processing of native coffee. In most of those the native producers were also company or co-operative shareholders.

Mr. Downs said that the Australian market for New Guinea coffee would continue to be the most important outlet.

“The political ties which join us to

Australia will depend increasingly upon economic exchange,” he said.

“In periods of national emergency or market distress the outlet to Aus tralia will be of mutual assistance only if it can be progressively de veloped in a healthy and stable manner so that New Guinea coffee can become a regular and traditional source for Australian consumers.

“We believe that significant and in creasing savings for Australia in foreign exchange will continue as a result from the use of our coffee in Australia as well as from its export overseas.”

World-Wide Problems Mr. lan Cartledge, officer-in-charge of the trade section of the commerce branch of the Territories Department, said that at present there were world wide problems in trade in tropical products, and it was mainly those pro ducts which P-NG could produce.

Lack of suitable raw materials and appropriate human skills meant that the economy would depend generally on agriculture for development for some years to come.

That would require continual ex pansion of markets for a com paratively small range of tropical pro ducts, of which coffee was one.

In 1964, P-NG exports totalled

£18.3 million, of which coffee sup plied £2.7 million.

Mr. Cartledge said that disruption of coffee growing or coffee marketing could jeopardise economic, political and social development achieved to date by the Administration among the Highlands people.

“An important part of the economic foundation essential for P-NG is be ing found in the growing of coffee and other tropical crops, comple mentary to and not competitive with the Australian mainland production”, he said.

“An assurance of first claim on the Australian market would add to the close ties between Australia and the Territory.

“Confirmation of the existing special tariff arrangements for coffee would provide growers with confid ence on which to proceed in building up their farming and processing effici ency and also planting where still re quired to obtain an optimum size coffee farm.”

"Sletholm" On South

Seas Trade Drive

THE Australian trade ship Sletholm left Sydney on April 30 for a seven-week tour of Papua- New Guinea, the BSIP, the New Hebrides, Fiji and New Caledonia.

The main aim of the tour is to arrest the decline in Australia’s trade in the South-West Pacific.

An earlier report on the trade drive appeared in PIM last month (p. 131).

The 58 firms in the mission cover a wide field of Australian manu factures and agency lines.

The mission leader is Mr. A. P.

Whitington, of Adelaide, who is a member of the board of Bunge (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., and a past Federal president of the Australian Chambers of Commerce export council.

Mr. Whitington has been closely associated with Australian Export Promotions Pty. Ltd., which or ganised the floating mission, since its inception.

Mr. Neil Beachley, who recently joined the staff of Australian Export Promotions, will manage the ship.

He became well known in the Pacific as the marketing and sales repre sentative of an Australian firm.

The Sletholm’s itinerary is: Port Moresby, May 7-9; Lae, May 13-14; Madang, May 16-17; Rabaul, May 19-20; Honiara, May 23-24; Vila, May 28; Lautoka, May 31; Suva, June 1-3; Noumea. June 7-8.

The exhibitors are; Dunlop Rubber Aust. Ltd.; British Motor Corp. (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.; AWA Ltd.:

Butter Marketing Board (Queensland); Besley and Pike, envelopes; W. Angliss ind Co. (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. (frozen and ;anned foods, agency lines); Hunter Galley Co-op. Dairy Co. Ltd.

BALM Paints Pty. Ltd.; ICIANZ; Ring Grip (A’asia.) Pty. Ltd., electrical accessories; Ansett-ANA; Andersens Sausages Pty. Ltd.; Union Carbide Aust.

Ltd. (flashlights and batteries); Con veyancer Fork Trucks (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.

Consolidated Milk Industries Ltd.; Producers Co-op. Distributing Society Ltd. dairy produce; R. B. Davies (Export) Pty. Ltd., builders’ and architectural hardware, etc.; Bank of NSW; Commonwealth Bank.

Kiwi Polish Co. Pty. Ltd.; BHP; Sigma Co. Ltd., pharmaceutical, ethical and proprietary products; Nestles: Haegemeyer Trading Co. (Aust.) Pty.

Ltd., foodstuffs; Australian Aluminium Co.

Ltd. . . . . .

Pitt Waddell Bennett Chains, industrial chains and fittings; Commonwealth Serum Laboratories, agricultural chemi cals; Murphy Liebert Pty. Ltd., toilet preparations; Harvest Foods Ltd.; Brownbuilt Ltd.; shelving system.

Speedo Knitting Mills Pty. Ltd.; Mackay Convair Heaters (Aust.) Pty.

Ltd.; Gerard Industries, electrical; David Shearer Ltd., agricultural machinery; Castalloy Ltd., aluminium castings; Ogden Industries Sales Pty. Ltd., builders hardware.

Zip Heaters (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.; Jasol Chemical Products Pty. Ltd.; Boomaroo Products Pty. Ltd., toys; Australian Sisalkraft Pty. Ltd.; F. H. Stephens Pty.

Ltd., shipping; Repco Ltd., automotive parts; TAA; Patience and Nicholson Ltd., machine tools.

Ezycut Tool Co. Pty. Ltd.; Stanger and Co. Ltd., cartridge fuse-links, etc.; N. V. Appleton Pty. Ltd., louvre window frames; Provincial Traders Pty. Ltd., food and beverages; Murex (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., arc welding electrodes, etc.; Leeton Co-op.

Cannery Ltd.

General Motors Holden; Mungo Scott Pty. Ltd., flour and grocery lines; Peerless Emulsion Products Pty. Ltd., floor polishes; Bunge Aust. Pty. Ltd., agency lines; Swift and Moore Pty. Ltd., wines, spirits and liquers.

C. Sullivan (Export) Pty. Ltd., agency lines; Shepparton Preserving Co.; Crane Copper and Aluminium Co.