Palm Oil Industry

For P Nc At Last

THE P-NG Administration and an overseas firm, Harrisons and Crosfield (ANZ) Ltd., will be equal partners in a major palm oil enterprise in the Cape Hoskins area of New Britain.

P-NG’s House of Assembly ap proved the plan on February 28 for the Administration and the firm to spend $1.25 million each on the venture.

The Administration will build an access road from the palm oil plantation area to the coast, con struct wharfs and finance the establishment of 500 smallholder blocks. Harrison and Crosfield will provide an oil mill.

The scheme was officially con firmed last July in Canberra {PIM, Aug., 1966, p. 148) and the Administration advertised for a lessee partner.

Agricultural experts believe the palm oil industry could become as important to the territory as cocoa and copra within the next 10 to 15 years. The Administration expects exports to add about $3 million a year to export earnings by the early 19705.

The agreement calls for the planting of 2,500 acres of palm

oil in five years and 4,000 acres in 10 years.

About 500 smallholder settlers will move from the New Guinea mainland to New Britain and be allocated 15 acres each in the Cape Hoskins area.

Each smallholder will be re quired to use eight acres for oil production and seven acres for subsistence farming.

Palm oil is used for industrial purposes—candles, soap and for the hardening of steel—and as an edible oil.

PIM urged the setting up of a palm oil industry in the South Pacific as far back as its eighth issue, when it said the Pacific administrations should take a look at the industry in West Africa {PIM, March, 1931, p. 2).

In February, 1943, PIM again urged that the palm oil industry could be of great value to the Islands.

It said on that occasion: “More than 10 years ago PIM published details of the valuable oil-palm of West Africa, which was then being introduced to the Nether lands Indies and Malaya, and Pacific territories administrations were urged to take an interest in this new development in planting.

“Nothing was done; not one administrative official displayed the slightest emotion. It is little satisfaction now to say, ‘I told you so’.”