Bright bakery
pp. 37-41 · Read in the full issue
moves in PNG, Vanuatu
Lae, Papua New Guinea, bak er, Peter Whitton, is pleased by his break-through into the Aus tralian generic-brand market.
Recently he shipped from his Paradise Bakery plant in Lae a total of five containers of water biscuits, sold to four supermar ket chains in Victoria and New South Wales.
The initial shipment, made up of 30,000 packets of the sao-type crackers, is expected to open a steady and growing trade for the enterprising PNG manufacturer. Negotiations were under way for a sixth container for another retail chain, one of the largest in the country.
Concurrently with the Lae effort comes a report that Lees Trading Company, of Fiji, has opened a bakery in Santo, Vanuatu, apparently to take advantage not only of that country’s beneficent tax struc ture, but also of special incen tives reportedly available to en trepreneurs willing to open in Santo. That island was the centre of the abortive Jimmy Stephens revolt and has re mained in very depressed state ever since. The Vanuatu Gov ernment has acknowledged the need to promote the place and restore its morale, and is apparently offering good incen tives to attract business.
Model of a new hotel to be built on the island of Moorea, French Polynesia, by the IBIS international hotel chain. IBIS is part of Accor, which is the world’s seventh largest international hotel group. IBIS is also building hotels in Papeete and on Raiatea. he first sod was turned for the building of the group’s 72-room Prince Hinoi Hotel in Papeete on August 21. Representatives of the group say that their Papeete hotel will have as its particular target Australian and New Zealand travellers - “people who usually go to Fiji or the Cook Islands without ever thinking of coming on to French Polynesia.”
Daniel da Rin, new Qantas chief in Papeete, Tahiti, tries out the executive chair while his predecessor, Tim Swann, looks not at all displeased that he is headed for retirement in New Zealand.
Mr Swann had run the Australian airline’s local office since 1981 when Qantas re-entered the Tahiti market with its six weekly flights Sydney-Papeete-Los Angeles and return.
The airline now carries more passengers from the U.S.A. to Tahiti than any other - 39 per cent of the total, compared with UTA 29 per cent, and Air New Zealand 29 per cent — La Depeche photo.
The ATR42 prototype fires its engines for the first time after roll-out. The 46-seat passenger aircraft, a joint Franco-Italian production, has already been ordered by New Caledonia's domestic airline, and is being sought by its counterpart in French Polynesia .-Aircraft photo.