Nauru phosphate

talks "sticky"

Talks between a Nauruan delegation and the British Phos phate Commissioners were still continuing in Canberra at the end of May in an effort to hammer out agreement for the sale of Nauruan phosphate after June 30, 1970, when the current contract between Nauru and the BPC ends.

The contract provides that new talks be completed by June 30 this year—but the going has been decidedly sticky on both sides.

Serious points of disagreement have been on price (currently $ll a ton fob, to rise to $l2 from July) and on quantity to be accepted (the partner govern ments currently take two million tons a year, which is most of Nauru’s output).

Before the talks the Nauruans had signed a further contract to sell Japan 300,000 tons of phosphate, at $l5 a ton, in addition to the earlier contract of 200,000 tons at $l4. (See also p. 121).