Imports are a problem

for French Polynesia

A recent report on French Polynesia compiled by a French parliamentary mission emphasises the territory’s excessive dependence on expenditure by Paris, to the detriment of local agriculture and industry. The role of the CEP nuclear test centre, which has been reducing its activities in recent times, has been particularly noted for drawing islanders away from traditional employment.

The Paris report shows that French Polynesia’s population of over 140,- 000, almost 100,000 of them in Tahiti, is growing at a rate of about 30%.

This is faster than the rate of develop ment of the territory’s resources and thus creates a serious economic problem. There is an excessive dependence on imports which are 10 times greater than the value of local exports. It is calculated that agriculture and industry provide only 20 per cent of the gross national product, while services, including tourism, make up 50 per cent. The remaining 30 per cent comes from the administration.

The islands’ chief agricultural production, copra, increased 76 per cent in 1975, to reach a 10-year record of 22,348 tonnes, no doubt prompted by the economic recession on Tahiti and reduced expenditure by the CEP.

This prompted workers to return to their plantations in outer islands.

Despite the drop in price of copra on world markets, under a local stabilisation plan Polynesian producers were guaranteed a favourable price by the Huilerie de Tahiti oil factory. This in turn cost the local authorities 495.2 million CFP in subsidies (about $A5 million).

In other areas of agriculture, vanilla and coffee production con tinued to be negligible. About 3,600 tonnes of local fruit was marketed, with less than 250 tonnes exported while about 1,800 tonnes, mostly citrus, was imported.

In the livestock market, local pork production exceeded imports. But for beef, imports were 10 times greater than local production. Milk produc tion is about equal to local demand.

The tourist industry attracted just under 83,000 visitors in 1975, com pared with the record 84,600 in 1974.

The tourist situation has since suf

fered further by the withdrawal, in late 1976, of the Qantas service between Sydney and Papeete and the discontinuation in February, 1977, of the Air France link Tokyo-Papeete- Lima. However, greater efforts are being made to make the lovely outer islands of the group more accessible to tourists. These include the Club Mediterranee on Moorea Island and the Kia Ora hotel chain with its Kia Ora Village on Rangiroa, the new Kia Ora Village on Moorea and plans for further bungalows on Bora Bora.

With North America providing about 50% of tourists through Tahiti, UTH, the hotel arm of UTA French Airlines has now been reconstituted in the USA as Firts French Hotels.

French Polynesia had over 1,900 hotel rooms in service at the begin ning of 1976, including 1,186 on Tahiti and 497 on Moorea.

Uranium found

on Niue Island

Are Niue Islanders going to grow rich on uranium?

Sixteen bores will be drilled on the island to determine the quantity and grade of uranium, the presence of which was discovered recently. The first test bore will be drilled in March.

The tests will be financed by the Niue Government and Avian Mining Company, of Australia.

Avian Mining, which holds the prospecting rights on Niue, has spent about $250,000 in the last five years looking for economic bauxite deposits.

75 new foreign

ventures in PNG

Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Labour, Commerce and Industry, Mr Gavera Rea, has reported that in the 12 months up to October 30, 1976, 75 foreign-owned companies had opened up new business operations in PNG.

Fifteen of the new businesses were in rural areas, with the rest in major centres. The 75 projects involved a total new investment of K9 million.

The figures excluded the Biala oil palm project, now discontinued by the government. But they covered the Jant project at Madang, the Gollin

Kyokuyo fishing venture at Kavieng, a number of companies specially es tablished in North Solomons province to service the copper mine, and takeovers and expansions of existing businesses which were not included in the 1975-76 figures.

Good year for

Tonga tourism

The tourist industry in Tonga en joyed a good year in 1976 and expects to do even better in 1977. There was a record number of arrivals by air with 9,323, offset to some extent by a slight fall in the number of cruise ship visitors at 35,000, chiefly because of the withdrawal of Shaw Savill ships.

New services into the kingdom by Air Nauru and South Pacific Island Airways are expected to boost the number of air visitors this year. More tourist accommodation is expected to be available later in 1977. This will in clude a 60-room hotel at Fahine and another new hotel at Vaiko Latai, about a mile from Fua’amotu airport.

PNG buys equity

in Seacom system

The PNG National Parliament has authorised the purchase of a 5% equi ty in the South-east Asia Com monwealth Telephone Cable System.

PNG thus becomes the seventh na tion to have equity in the Seacom Cable system. The others are the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand.

Presenting the treaty document to parliament, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Sir Maori Kiki, said the Seacom Cable provides 166 telephone circuits from Cairns in Northern Australia via Madang in PNG to Guam. Eighty-two telephone circuits are provided from Guam via Hong Kong to Kota Kinablu in Singapore.

Sir Maori said that as a result of the purchase, PNG would become responsible for operating and main taining the cable station near Yabob village in Madang province. The sta tion was previously operated by Overseas Telecommunications of Australia.

The Minister said the assets which PNG would acquire in Madang would comprise buildings, houses and land associated with the cable station, and joint ownership with the six other Seacom partners of land cable, transmission, power and ancillary equipment in the Madang cable sta tion.