Trade Winds

□ Japan Recognises Marshalls

IHE Japanese Government has for

mally recognised the Republic of the

Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia. The explicit ack nowledgment of the island states as

sovereign self-governing nations was

announced in mid-December 1988.

Tokyo will accredit a non-resident ambassador in each nation. Japan is the tenth nation to grant formal rec ognition of the nations.

T he Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and the Northern Marianas were part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Is lands (TTPI) established under a Un ited Nations agreement in 1947. The US offered them a number of options to end the trusteeship. The Northern Marianas chose to become a Common wealth of the US, while in 1986 the Federated States and the Marshall Is lands chose a compact of free associa tion with the US, effectively becoming sovereign states. Beset with domestic legal and civil problems, Palau re mains undecided on its future rela tionship with the US.

□ Us Resumes Fiji Aid

THE United States Government will resume economic assistance to Fiji sus pended following the May 1987 coup.

In Washington, State Department

spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley said the

decision follows recent developments in Fiji viewed favourably by tne US, citing the suspension of the Internal Security Decree and Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara’s commitment to the restoration of constitutional government.

“Our goal is to encourage steps made in returning Fiji to representa tive constitutional and civilian rule,” she said.

“The restoration of our SUSI. 3 mil lion economic assistance programs will enable us to help address important development problems that affect all of Fiji’s communities.”

At a Washington press conference in late December 1988, Oakley said the State Department will work closely with the Fiji Government to provide “commodities in the health sector”.

But she was unable to state when the resumption of aid would take place.

□ Record Pearl Sales

JAPANESE buyers accounted for the niggest share of record sales at the II tli International Pearl Auction held last November in the Tahitian capital of Papeete. Fifty-nine of the 69 lots of black pearl offered were sold, setting

records of 85 per cent sales success and a $U52,720,000 revenue.

Japanese buyers were most active in

the eight-hour opening session,

accounting for 84 per cent of purch ases. Chino Jewelry was the biggest

Japanese buyer, spending $U5545,228

on 1627 of the increasingly famous

black pearls. They are now officially

known as “Tahiti’s Pearl” and industry sources say they are on the verge of

gaining international prestige, particu

larly in Europe.

□ Unesco Conference

TWENTY delegates from South Paci fic nations attended a recent confer ence on education at the Hawkesbury

Agricultural College near Sydney. The

College was chosen to host the confer ence because of its involvement in other educational programs in the

Asia-Pacific region.

UNESCO joined with the Australian International Development Aid Bureau (AIDAB) to sponsor the three day event. Workshops and discussion papers on current educational issues were presented to assist delegates in the development of individual plans of action as part of a regional education strategy.

Delegates from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Ton ga and Vanuatu heard Dr Geoff Cald well, from Canberra’s Australian National University, call on developed nations such as Australia to assist de

veloping neighbours in the develop

ment of programs for education and the eradication of illiteracy.

A larger Asia-Pacific regional

gathering is scheduled for the Haw kesbury College late in 1989 with 300

delegates expected to attend.

□ Fui Shark Attack

TWO Fijian fishermen were lucky to survive their battle with a large tiger shark in the waters off the island of Rabi. Tebusi Iporito, 58, and Togara Nataro, 35, both of Uma village on Rabi island, were fishing from their eight-metre canoe between Rabi and Vanua Levu last month when they hooked the shark. They fought for several hours to land the six-metre shark which attacked the canoe, biting a gaping hole in its wooden hull.

The snark thrashed violently in the water, and Mr Nataro was knocked unconscious when its tail struck him across the head. Mr Iporito managed to kill the shark but the canoe was

PNG cattle: imported stock feeds banned.

barely afloat and light was fading. He decided to swim the 10 kilometres to Nuku, the nearest point of the island and was later found unconscious by a group of islanders on the beach at Batutu. He told them Mr Nataro was at sea and a search later found him

clinging to the partially submerged

canoe. Both men were treated in the

Rabi Hospital.

□ New Ship For Png Company

THE LUTHERAN Shipping Com pany in Lae, PNG, has taken delivery of a new container vessel. The Wewak becomes the biggest of the company’s fleet of nine ships and will service all ports between Lae and Wewak. It has a capacity of 25 cargo containers.

□ Png Grain Import Ban

PAPUA NEW GUINEA’S Minister for

Agriculture Galeng Lang has

announced a ban on the import of stock feed in a bid to encourage local farmers to develop the nation’s fledg

ling grain industry. Mr Lang expects

the ban will result in a saving of up to K 6 million a year which represents about 34,000 tonnes of grain. Mr Lang says a feed mill will be estab lished as the first part of a project to

develop the country’s grain industry.

□ Png Moves On Trade Imbalance

Papua New Guinea Has

announced a major effort to adjust its trade imbalance with heavy promotion of its product image in Australia. De partment of Trade and Industry

acting-Secretarv Joseph Hafmans says

the move will double exports to Au stralia inside five years.

Trade figures for 1987 show there

is much work to be done, with PNG exporting goods worth KB4 million to Australia. Imports reached K 364 mil lion, resulting in a K2BO million trade imbalance. Australia spent K 35 million on gold, K3I million on coffee, K 4.6 million on tea and K 1.7 million on copra oil.

Japan imported goods worth K 302

million from PNG during 1987 to re main the country’s leading trade part ner, with strong sales of copper con centrate, gold, timber, copra, prawns and crocodile skins.

West Germany came in second place, importing K2BB million worth of PNG goods during the year.

□ Png Lifts Cocoa Tax

THE PAPUA NEW Guinea Govern ment has lifted its export tax on cocoa. The decision follows a difficult period lor the cocoa industry, hit hard

oy falling world prices.

□ Fisheries Grant

THE Pacific Regional Marine Re sources Development Program is to receive a $F17.5 million grant from the Commission of the European Community. The grant will provide equipment, construction work, tech nical assistance and training in five components over a five-year period.

The first three components will give assistance to the Forum Fisheries

Agency, improve the regional database

and communications systems of the Tuna Fisheries Management Infor maioji Servies, and help improve the

region’s capacity to negotiate the de

limitation of exclusive economic zones.

The remaining components will fund the South Pacific Commission’s tuna tagging program and projects to

map the near-shore and off-shore sea ben mineral resources.

The program will cover Fiji, Kiriba ti, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Is lands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Western Samoa. The grant is made available from the European Develop ment Fund under the Third Lome Convention.

□ Boral Expands Pacific

Operations

BORAL GAS, the energy division of the Boral Group, has significantly

strengthened its operations in Papua

New Guinea and in the Pacific islands.

Through its associated company, Gas Corporation of American Samoa, Boral has acquired the Blue Flame Gas Corporation, the principal distri butor of LPG in American Samoa.

The purchase completes Boral’s vertic al integration into distribution of LPG at import, wholesale and retail levels along similar lines to those currently

employed by Group subsidiaries in

Fiji, Vanuatu and the Solomon Is lands.

Boral Gas has also reached agree ment with local interests in Western Samoa for the establishment of a new company, the appointment of a retail agent and the establishment of a new bulk terminal in Apia.

In the Solomon Islands, the com pany has obtained government approval to enlarge its existing gas ter minal facility and relocate it from the port area at Honiara to the Ranadi industrial estate.

Boral will establish new gas termin als in the Papua New Guinea high lands at Mount Hagen and Goroka.

It’s expected these projects will create

significant additional employment

opportunities in those areas. □

Delegates from around the Pacific

met at Hawkesbury Agricultural

College, under the asgis of UNESCO.