Computer buy would

Sugar Boom

Chance For

Fiji Growers

Seven countries bought a total of 329,500 tons of sugar from Fiji last year. However, the proceeds of sugar sales won’t be known until accounts are completed later this year.

Value of 1970’s sugar exports— about the same amount as sold last year—was $33,736,148.

As in previous years the biggest customers for Fiji last year were Britain (140,000 tons) and Canada (61,972 tons). Other customers were the United States (41,550), New Zealand (29,505), Singapore (23,724), Japan (20,944) and Malaysia (11,803).

A little over 23,000 tons was sold locally.

The 2,505,013 tons of cane crushed yielded a ton of sugar for every 7.91 tons of cane.

Labasa, on Vanua Levu, had its lowest cane-to-sugar ratio since 1927, due to waterlogged conditions in large areas of low-lying land during the early months of the season.

In his report for 1971, the inde pendent chairman of the sugar in dustry, Mr. lan Thomson, urged growers, millers and mill-workers to grow and harvest as much contract cane as they could this year.

A good performance by the in dustry this year would strengthen Fiji’s position at the International Sugar Agreement conference next year and in negotiations with the Common Market, he said.

With high world prices and guaran teed markets in Britain and the US, said Mr. Thomson, Fiji growers and tnillers had a definite incentive to mltivate the best possible crop and harvest to the maximum.

The ISA conference next year would probably give Fiji a chance ;o get a bigger basic export tonnage luota for free market sugar.

Computer buy would

be 'improvident'

Western Samoa’s National Provi lent Fund office is seeking per nission from the government to buy i SWS7O,OOO computer from Hawaii.

But a Treasury Department official s opposing the idea because as he nit it “there are more economical vays of doing the fund’s work”. He aid all that was needed was $lO,OOO - of manual accountant equip nent. Such equipment could easily )e maintained locally.