Produce

Prices

Unless otherwise shown, stated quotations are n Australian currency. Australian dollar (Feb 1) quailed: New Zealand, $1.1446 (buying), $1.1388 selling); Papua New Guinea, K 0.8855 (buying), [0.8788 (selling), Fiji, $1.0320 (buying), $l.OOBO selling); Tonga, pa'anga 1.0100 (buying, pa'anga .9900 (selling); US, $1.0904 (buying), $1.0856 selling); UK, £0.6379 (buying), £0.6305 (selling); ranch Pacific, CFP 99.06 (buying), CFP 97.54 selling).

Copra

I Copra industries are controlled through copra bards in PNG, the Solomons, the Gilberts, both emoas, Fiji, Tonga the Cooks and the US Trust brritory. New Hebrides, French Polynesia and New Bledonia do not have boards and copra is either sold Idividually by growers to overseas buyers or used jcally.

PNG— The board, with planters' reps, directs retribution and sales and pays planters. Shipments re made to UK, European markets and to Australia fid Japan, and coconut oil mills in New Britain, i Latest prices are: Per tonne, delivered main ports, pt air dried, KlB2, FMS, K 179, smoke dried, $177 Irices include Kl 6 bounty).

FIJI: — The board fixes prices on Philippines upra, taking into account freight taxes, selling costs, firinkage, etc. Latest prices were: Fiji 1, $245, Fiji 2,

235, Cas $216

NEW HEBRIDES Copra sold direct by planters [France and Japan, Burns Philp paying on wharf, Vila f Santo. Dec 14 FNH 13,500; London Jan 21, 182 50 let francs 100 kg cif Marseilles.

US TRUST TERRITORY Palau Ist grade 180, 2nd grade, $l7O, 3rd grade, $l6O, at district Bntre, outer islands $155, $145 and $135 for the three rades. Yap: $l6O, $l5O and $l4O respectively at (strict centre, outer islands, $135, $125 and $ll5 sspectively. Truk, Ponape, Kusaie, Marshalls and orthern Marianas: $l5O, $l4O and $l3O respectively district centre, outer islands, $125, $ll5 and $lO5.

COOK ISLANDS All production is sold to bels Ltd, Auckland. Prices are based on average orld prices for the prior three or six months and imain in force for three months.

SOLOMON ISLANDS — Copra Board pays per i at Honiara, Yandina and Girzo, 8c Ist grade, 7'he id grade, 6'hc 3rd grade.

GILBERT ISLANDS —5134.40 a ton, or 6c a lb

Western Samoa Ist Grade, Swsib7 10,

id grade SWSI74 00.

TONGA— All copra sold to EEC, Ist grade, s 7O, 2nd grade, SPSB NIUE — Standard, $147 a tonne gross.

Other Produce

COCOA: — Island rates are based on Ghana •ice. Ghana price on Feb 1 was £5tg2,434 ton, cif, UK ontinent Feb 1, fob Rabaul, export quality, K 3.000 per nne, delivered ex-wharf Sydney, $3,600 per tonne.

New Hebrides London, Jan 21, 1,030 met incs 100 kg Solomon* — Delivered Honiara prices recently ere 45c per lb Ist grade, 35c 2nd grade.

CHILLIES: — Solomons, Honiara buyers pay for 7 tabasco, Ist grade 38c per lb, 2nd grade, 28c per . Long Red is 20c per lb COFFEE — PNG Feb 1. Good quality, A Grade 195 per kg; B Grade $4 91 per kg; C Grade, $4 87 sr kg, Y Grade, $4 87 per kg W. Samoa Recently, WSTEC ground and dried Bans, 60c per lb wholesale PEANUTS: — PNG. Sydney agents reported tcently fob Lae, kernals, white Spanish, 19c per lb.

BROOMCORf*— Fiji, Ist grade 16Vzc per lb; 2nd grade, per lb; 3rd grade, 4c per lb.

RICE (Aust): — PNG: Dried brown, 25 kilo bags, $298 94 per tonne. Vitamin enriched white, 25 kilo bags, $303 94 per tonne, all fow Sydney/Melbourne.

Pacific Islands: Calrose med grain, white. 25 kilo bags, $320 per tonne. Kula long grain white, 25 kilo bags, $335 per tonne. All prices cif Sydney/Melbourne.

RUBBER Singapore, Jan 31 53c-55c per lb VANILLA BEANS — Prices recently were: White and yellow label processing standard packs, $7 50, green label $7 40 cif Sydney Tonga P 4 20 fob Nukualofa $4 50 Melbourne.

TROCHUS — Solomons; Private companies pay 18c per lb for good quality.

BLACK LIP — Solomons: Private companies pay 22c per lb for good quality.

BECHE-DE-MER Solomons: Private companies pay Ist grade $1 60 per lb; 2nd grade $1.30 per lb; 3rd grade, $1 per lb.

GREEN SNAIL — Solomons: Private companies pay 30c per lb.

GOLD LIP: Solomons: Ist grade 38c per lb.

TORTOISE SHELL— Solomons: $1 80-$4 per lb.

SANDALWOOD: — New Hebrides, London Jan 21, 340 met francs 100 super ft.

SHARK FINS: — Gilbert Is Co-op Federation pays per lb, $1 32 Ist grade, $1 2nd grade, 80c 3rd grade COCONUT OIL: PNG: London, Jan 21, £stg37o ton cif N. Europe ports.

MEAL CAKE:— PNG, London, Jan 21, £5tg116.75 tonne cif E, Europe ports.

Exchange Rates

FIJI: — Feb 1, Through Bank of NSW, ANZ Bank, Bank of NZ, Bank of Baroda First National City Bank, Aust $ on Fiji, buying SFI =$Al 1 COOK IS., NIUE: — NZ currency is used NEW HEBRIDES: — Feb 2, Through Banque Nationale de Paris (Sydney), Indosuez Bank, ANZ Bank, Bank of NSW, National Bank of Aust, Commercial Banking Co of Sydney, Commercial Bank of Aust, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp, Barclays Bank International, SAI = FNH 88.73 (buying), FNH 86 83 (selling) airmail transfer rate.

WESTERN SAMOA: — Feb 1, through Bank of Western Samoa, controlled from NZ, T 1 = $A 119 TONGA:— Feb 1, PI = $A 1 1

Norfolk Is, Solomon Is, Gl, Nauru;—

Australian currency is used, no exchange payable on transactions with Australia.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA*. — Feb 1, Through PNG Banking Corp, Bank of NSW, ANZ Bank, Bank of South Pacific, K 1 = $A1.14.

FRENCH PACIFIC: — Pacific francs (CFP) are used in New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna Is, and French Polynesia French Bank, Sydney, Feb 2, quoted $A = 99 08 CFP (buying), 97 69 CFP (selling). Paris- London, £1 = 8 5410 francs (buying), 8 5310 francs (selling). CFP-London, £1 = 157.35 CFP (buying), 153.23 CFP (selling). CFP to 1 met franc 18.43 (buying), 17.94 (selling).

Bank* should b* approached for daily rata*.

New industry

for Marshalls

Nearing completion at Majuro, the district centre of the Marshall Islands, is the Majuro Copra Processing Plant. The plant is owned by the Marshall Islands Development Authority (MI DA), an arm of the dis trict legislature and was constructed by Pacific International, Inc., which will also operate the plant under a one-year contract with MI DA.

The plant opening will mark the realisation of a dream and the end of years of hard work for people like Charles Domnick, a former represen tative to the Congress of Micronesia, who, along with other local businessmen and the district legislature, has worked hard to in terest capital investors in the Marshalls.

Although the raw material for a copra processing plant is relatively in expensive and accessible the cost of constructing a plant was prohibitive for local resources. Under the auspices of MI DA, Domnick and others sought private developers to make the capital investment and per suaded the Congress of Micronesia to underwrite the feasibility studies used to persuade investors.