Pacific Commerce and Produce

Pacific Trade Competition "A Cause For Concern"

By a Staff Writer

Although the Pacific Islands are favourably disposed to wards trading with Australia, the large variety of products from other countries which are now entering the South Seas should be a cause of concern to Australian exporters, in the view of Mr.

A. P. Whitington, leader of the Sletholm trade mission.

SPEAKING in Sydney on the mission’s return in June, Mr.

Whitington said Australia faced strong competition particularly for textiles, certain food products, motor cars and car parts, and machine tools.

Among the competitors was Japan.

Because Japan was buying copra and timber from the Pacific Islands in in creasing quantities, which provided backloading for a regular shipping ser vice into the area, it could offer lower freight rates to Japanese exporters, Mr. Whitington said.

He said shipowners had contended that the lower shipping turn-around in most Australian ports combined with a lack of back-loading had forced up the freight rate for Australian ex porters. Several members of the trade mission intended to bring the problem of slow turn-around to the at

tention of their marketing and manu facturing organisations.

Mr. Whitington said mission mem bers had made initial sales to the value of at least £500,000 during the voyage and were confident continuing new business would follow. The mission had been well-received at every port, and members considered the pro motion had been well worthwhile and that it had achieved its objective.

Mr. Whitington said more than 60,000 people, a good proportion of them wholesalers, importers, retailers and merchants had visited the Sletholm in all ports and this was “remarkably good”.

Asked to report on the criticism filed by PlM’s Rabaul correspondent (see p. 29), Mr. Whitington said there was an element of truth in some of the criticism, but most of it was grossly exaggerated.

Dealing with criticism that organisers catered for sophisti markets, rather than the mas Pacific Islands’ population, Mr. 1 ington said he thought the tots come for the New Guinea native only about £lO a year.

About all the Australian prod manufacturer or exporter could si for that market were lap laps and skirts. It was no good caterinj a market which did not exist.

Dealing with the absences of lines, Mr. Whitington said man turers were invited to take part i mission, but a lot of them die accept, “I believe the reason for that that they would rather spend rr in other markets with gr e; potential”, Mr. Whitington said.

Mr. Whitington said many of who took part in the mission orders for thousands of pounds y of goods which had not been sc the Territory before.

In one case it was suggested t mission that a car displayed ii Sletholm could be seen in the R: showrooms. That was not correc the type of car in the ship hao been exported to New Guinea.

He agreed there were cases v merchants held off placing ordei the Sletholm arrived.

“The goodwill we have gaim the Territory will outweigh the bit of adverse criticism we have Mr. Whitington added.

i May Get Better

9 de Deal

I is expected to benefit from an Australian Government osal to give special import con- Dns to less-developed countries troducts of special export interest lem. is expected soon to in a waiver of the GATT pro ns which lay down that a try cannot give additional rences. r. W. B. Rogers, the Fiji Gov «nt representative in Australia, >een trying for some time to get Australian Government to do thing about tariffs to assist Fiji rters, who find themselves work under unfavourable preference on such items as timber and Icrafts.

4G Experiments

th Sugar Cane

PROGRAMME of field experi nents by Papua-New Guinea’s rtment of Agriculture to test •rospects for development of a industry in P-NG had begun, linister for Territories, Mr. C. E. ;s, said in June. . Barnes said that a recent study hown that the Markham Valley, Lae, and Brown River, near Port sby, might have potential for ■ecise knowledge about cane i and sugar content of cane in area selected for an industry 1 be needed before investment in dern sugar mill would be war 1. The test programme would a minimum of five years.” said establishment of a sugar ;ry based on home consumption be feasible in the 1970’5, rt possibilities were uncertain, m industry could be expanded oduce for export if prospects ed it. Many problems would to be resolved before an in r could be established.

iana Plan For

>k Islands

i Cook Islands will probably ndertake a three-year pro ne to boost banana growing, ling to Mr. Albert Henry, leader te Cook Islands Party and ble leader of the Islands’ future ament. er negotiations with Fruit Dis ars Ltd. in Wellington in May,

Mr. Henry said there was a guaran teed market for Cook Islands bananas in New Zealand but no fixed price had been agreed on.

The general manager of Fruit Dis tributors, Mr. C. R. Walker said that in the past his company had accepted all bananas available from Rarotonga but slight interest had been shown by the growers.

The landed cost of Cook Islands bananas at Auckland is 35/6 a case, and with freight, the actual cost is 54/- a case.

CSR Profit Down

£873,000 THE CSR Co. Ltd. profit of £6,522,861 for the year ended March 31, 1965, although £872,978 down on the record 1963-64 profit of £7,395,839, must be regarded as satisfactory.

Sugar prices have fallen away from the record levels of the previous financial year, and general business activity has been somewhat restrained.

The company’s diversification policy is now starting to pay off,

for without the income of the non sugar enterprises this year’s net profit would have been considerably lower.

The accounts are unsatisfactory in that, although they say that part of the profit was derived from quarry ing and ready mixed concrete, they do not show the contribution made by Ready Mixed Concrete, which is owned by CSR and Blue Metal In dustries.

Nor do they show how the profits from the building materials division or the chemicals division offset the lower sugar prices.

These may be matters which the chairman, Mr. J. W. Dunlop, will deal with in his annual address to shareholders on July 21.

The dividend for 1964-65 has been kept at 121 per cent., made up of an interim 5 per cent, and a final 71 per cent.

Big Moresby Building

—Without DJ's.

TENDERS are shortly to be called for construction of a 12-storey commercial building in Port Moresby to be completed by March, 1967. It will be the tallest building in P-NG, and estimated cost is about £500,000.

The building will be on a high point of land just below the House of Assembly and will be constructed by the Australia New Guinea Cor poration for leasing as commercial offices. Tenants will include TAA.

Some months ago the Australian chain of department stores, David Jones Ltd., was interested in taking ground-floor space in the building but negotiations apparently came to nothing.

David Jones has mail order busi ness with the Territory but has no store there.

Support For P-NG

Coffee Planters

NEW Guinea coffee planters wanted a level of duty which would continue to protect their grade coffee against the worst effects of a price fall, president of the Highlands Farmers and Settler’s Association, Mr. lan Downs, told a Tariff Board

inquiry in Sydney on June 10. inquiry is into the associa application for continued proto of New Guinea cotfee on the tralian market.

Mr. Downs said on today’s 1962 levels, growers needed 3/' lb GIF, or 3/6 per lb FOB, I was confirmed recently that prices were not available in tralia.

A large proportion of the tralian demand came from a number of large roasters, who not willing to pay more thai base price, Mr. Downs said.

On the evidence presented at two sessions in Sydney ai Goroka and Port Moresby, the seems unlikely to recommend change, unfavourable to P-N the present duty range. The pi I received strong support from tralian soluble coffee manufact

New Solomons Coi

Formed

Guadalcanal plains

has been incorporated in Ho BSIP, with a nominal capitr £750,000 and a proposed capital of £426,000. Shares are to make it easier for the chanjj to decimal currency.

Managing director is Mr. I Dalrymple-Hay, and the compu acquiring the following assets • by Mr. Dalrymple-Hay and Me Enterprises Ltd. The Hotel Met Mendana Self Service Store, HI Butchery, and an area of las Tetere. The company is aco other areas on the Guadalcanal for a cattle industry, soya bear and dry rice experiments. Thes will be extended.