CANADIAN-OWNED National

Trade Winds

Solomons cannery study under way

Fisheries Development Co (NFD) of the Solomon Islands is now conduct ing a feasibility study into building a fish cannery at Tulagi.

This follows the rapid increase of activity under the new owners, with two new boats having arrived from Cairns the Solomon Searcher will be used for scouting ahead of the fleet while the Tulagi Express will operate a cargo service between NFD’s headquarters at Tulagi and Honiara.

Meanwhile, foreign interests now also control another Solomon Island com pany, the fish processing and export business of Melanesian Traders Ltd. The company will retain a 20 per cent interest in the new entity, Island Fisheries Ltd, a company controlled by Japanese and Australian interests. The operation packs reef fish fillets for the domestic and export markets.

Brewery in progress FOUNDATION work on the planned Solomon Breweries Ltd plant at Ranadi has been finished and the managers, Brauhaus International, is still hoping the first beer will be on sale by the end of the year. The brewery is costing SSI3I million (SUS 11.97 million).

Falling exports hit A DEFICIT in Solomon Islands balance of payments 0f55125.4 million (SUS9.BI million) was recorded in the December 1990 quarter, a considerable rise from the SSI 16.1 million deficit from the previous quarter. The Central Bank of Solomon Islands said it was due to the widening of the trade gap.

Export earnings dropped five per cent on the previous quarter to 55147.8 million, with lower earnings from fish, timber and cocoa. But receipts from copra and palm products improved as a result of increased volumes and improved prices.

Import payments rose 14 per cent to 55161.5 million, with oil payments surg ing by 52 per cent due to the Gulf crisis.

External reserves declined by 5514.4 million to 55142.9 million.

Industrial corporation AIMED at deepening the country’s capital market, the Solomon Islands Government has enacted legislation to set up an industrial development corpor ation. Finance Minister Columbus Abe said the corporation would act as a catalyst to private sector investments. It will make special efforts to reach rela tively new classes of local entrepreneurs

in the country, and assist in developing export-oriented and tourism projects.

Fiji

FFI bailed out FINANCIALLY troubled Fiji Forest Industries is to receive a SFI million ($U5675,000) package to help it keep going, with the money being put up by the Fiji Development Bank and FFFs parent, Westralian forest industries.

FFFs operations came to a standstill in early March after its main creditor, the ANZ Bank, withdrew its financial sup port. It has been reported in Fiji that FFI owes a total SF2S million to its creditors.

China to buy more sugar CHINESE vice foreign minister Liu Huajiu said in Suva that his country will raise the amount of sugar it buys from Fiji by 10,000 tonnes to 55,000 tonnes a year. China will also negotiate a price higher than the prevailing world price (which was US9c a pound at the time of the announcement). Liu said the in creased quota was a sign of growing relations between the two countries.

Samoa

Eluding the fruit-fly WeSTERN Samoa will be seeking per mission to export green bananas to New Zealand. The government in Apia sees this as a way of averting the danger of fruit-fly infestation (a much greater threat in ripe fruit). Tighter quarantine rules in New Zealand have badly affected fruit shipments from various South Pacific islands. Samoa planned to send a trial shipment of green bananas in late March.

Tonga

Wave power revived NORWEGIAN firm Kvaerner Brug A/S is to make a second attempt to undertake an experimental wave-power project in Tonga. An earlier plant did not work properly and an energy consultant en gaged for the work was killed inside the silo. The company will this time use a different type of silo to determine whether a full-scale plant would be feasible in Tonga.

Tuvalu

Shark export hopes TWO New Zealand businessmen have been in Tuvalu investigating whether shark products can be exported, particu larly dried shark fins and processed shark skin, to Asia. The scheme, if it goes ahead, will depend upon encouraging local people to process shark products but the scheme is ideally suited to Tuvalu in that processing requires simple meth

ods and can be carried out at the village level.

Micronesia

Agriculture study ASIAN Development Bank is providing 5U5450,000 to allow an assessment of agricultural potential in the Federated States of Micronesia. It is part of the FSM Government’s policy to diversify the economy away from its reliance on the public sector. The agriculture sector,

though poorly developed, already in

volves almost every family on a full- or part-time basis and produces 60 per cent of the food consumed and 40 per cent of exports. Under the terms of the ADB grant, consultants will look at land resources, farm size, tenure arrange ments, manpower and technical assist ance.

Vanuatu

Rural phone service RURAL areas of Vanuatu will get free public telephone services following inter vention by Prime Minister and Minister for Telecommunications, Father Walter Lini. Father Lini recently expressed concern over charges for phone services to rural areas and advised the Telecom munications Authority to come up with a system of free services for public phones, including those in schools, hos pitals, aid stations and local government council offices. The Authority said the provision of free rural telephone services was scheduled to start from May 4.

Fish centre opens A EUROPEAN Community funded fishing training centre has been opened near Vanuatu’s second largest town, Luganville on Espirito Santo. Costing VTI24 million (SUS 1.11 million), the centre includes a boat and equipment repair workshop, training centre, class rooms and accommodation. Courses are being offered to ni-Vanuatu interested in taking full- or part-time. The centre is also equipped with a range of boats from motor- boats to outrigger canoes.

Papua New Guinea

Loan from China CHINA has granted Papua New Guinea a SUS 10 million interest-free loan.

Visiting Prime Minister Rabbie Namaliu said in Beijing the loan was earmarked for buying equipment and supplies for Chinese-sponsored develop ment projects. The two sides also signed an investment promotion and protection agreement, to explore opportunities tc enhance trade and investment in pri mary and secondary produce including coffee, cocoa, timber, fisheries, copper concentrates and textiles. □