will discourage

New Guinea will discourage coffee planting

The Papua-New Guinea Admit stration has agreed to actively di courage any further coffee plantin, in the New Guinea Highlands—ti territory’s coffee area. It will mai “>a maximum effort” to encourai economic diversification there.

THIS is the result of high lev talks at Goroka on March : between Administration officials ar members of the Highlands Farme and Settlers’ Association. The plante asked for the meeting because < concern for over-production of Ne Guinea coffee.

Highlands’ farmers say that thw understood as far back as 1960 th the administration would actively di courage indigenous coffee planters j that the territory would not produ( more coffee than that allowed by ti International Coffee Agreement. TI agreement allowed for existing nath plantings, plus 20 per cent., but ne native plantings since then have bee considerably higher than that perhaps 200 per cent.

Last year New Guinea exporte about 12,000 tons, and it is unde stood that this year, to Septemtw 30, the export figure will be 15,0 C tons.

New Guinea coffee is now sellir at 37c per pound FOB as a be quote, which is about five to seve cents a pound less than it was receb ing 12 months ago.

Administration officers at th Goroka meeting were the Assistar Administrator (Economic Affairs] the Director of Trade and Industr the Director of Agriculture and th Director of Lands.

At the conclusion of the talks th Assistant Administrator, Mr. Fran Henderson, and the acting presider of the Farmers and Settlers’ Associa tion, Mr. J. L. Leahy, made a join Press statement saying that it wa generally agreed that new coffe plantings should not be encouraged.

Both emphasised the need for in creased kau kau and other fooi production and said kau kau wa “at least as profitable as coffee am there was a considerable unsatisfie< market”.

They also emphasised the value o passionfruit and cattle to the 20!

New Guinean members of the asso ciation attending the conference.

opra prices

rill recover'

HAIRMAN of the P-NG Copra Marketing Board, Mr. lan Donald, gave the following report the world copra market on April ‘The general trend in the market edible oils since the end of March i been towards lower prices, de :e earlier indications that prices ild firm as a result of falling pro :tion in some sectors, particularly »ra.

As usual, the trend can be traced k to US soyabeans, for which re has been little demand in recent ;ks.

Strong competition has come d China, where Japan recently chased a large quantity of soya n, and from Russia, where large ntities of sunflower seed and oil available. Sunflower seed is also viding strong competition in ope.

As a result of this competition, vy price declines have occurred groundnuts, also Peruvian fish oils , of course, in Philippine copra.

However, with the exception pos y of groundnut oil and palm oil, st food oils are now at such low :e levels that one can only expect further declines either to be very ht, or not at all.

As far as copra is concerned, prices >t recover shortly because of the nite drop which will soon occur export supplies, mainly from the lippines, and which will probably ome more pronounced during the t month or so.”

Dpper 'greater

an expected'

NO Australian mining companies, Conzinc Riotinto and New •ken Hill Consolidated, will spend million this year investigating the per deposits on Bougainville, NG. ir Maurice Mawby, chairman of Bougainville development section CRA, said in April that two ds of this cost would be borne CRA and one-third by New ken Hill. le said cost would rise from 54.2 [ion at December 31, 1966, to .2 million on the same date this r. )nly large organisations with great ncial resources and with world e contacts can afford to engage exploration programmes of this gnitude,” Sir Maurice said.

“Success could cause many other companies to become interested and speed the development of the Territory of Papua-New Guinea to which Australia has very special obligations.” .

He disclosed that recent diamond drilling on Bougainville had shown copper deposits were “considerably greater” than earlier estimates of at least 90 million tons.

The ore had an average assay of 0.63 per cent, copper and 0.58 dwt per ton gold. Grade of the additional ore was expected to be of the same general order as that already reported.

Sir Maurice said this assay was usual for large deposits found in the US and the Philippines. And at present copper prices this grade was economical—“or we would not proceed with the prospect”.

But because of the difficult terrain, high rainfall and other factors, the establishment of a mining enterprise in the area would involve “many complexities and require many considerations”. By “other factors” Sir Maurice no doubt had in mind the objections of some of the local New Guineans to exploration in their area.

This problem has not yet been solved. 3 Sir Maurice said the increase in reserves was the result of more diamond drilling since the annual report had been written. Detailed calculations of the deposit would be revised shortly when the testing work had been further advanced.

DC ID nircfrln will airarnp Will

aid nickel Company

■ 7 A NEW 2,000-foot long airstrip for use by an international nickel company is nearing completion on San Jorge Island, in the Central District, British Solomon Islands Protectorate.

The use of aircraft will reduce delays in the delivery of spares and ‘° fidd f ° rCe 8 on Santa Isab f’company recently shipped a c^rn 'l^ Sl^ ln ?u nt tOnS ? f 2T e s / ? mp 1 Yunnc n Canada, where it is to be tested and analysed for mineral content.

A decision on whether it will be economic to mine nickel deposits in Isabel, San Jorge, and the Choiseul area is expected before the end of this year,

SoVTIOQII fruit s6lit

- k. 7 ,

To In A By Qit

mwn tor.c of a

T F *-°. P A P

Tf pia t( ? Auc ¥ anc * m April. 2? r e t l^ ar f !st consignment of its kind ever to come from the Islands tF< yffj* a ♦ *ew Zealand reports say the Samoan Government hopes ultim ately to send 3i tons of fruit a week by air to Auckland, The Western Samoan Minister for Agriculture, Laufili Time, and the Trade and Development Corn missioner, Mr. E. Stehlin, visited the city’s markets during the month to discuss air freighting.