Silver price down but film expensive

Press, 23 April 1980, Page 16

Silver price down but film expensive

World silver prices nave 1 fallen but the prices Of, I photographic film have not, i 1 nor are they likely to in the 1 near future. ■ ‘ i Since January film prices < have increased markedly,;! some brands by up to 30 per; cent, partly in response to I the international silver boom 1 late last year. Early in 1979 I silver sold for about SUS6j an ounce in the London bull- I ion market. Bv January, I 1980. it had reached just 1 ov-”- SUSSO an ounce. ! Although the price had I drooped dramaticallv — it was 514.75 an ounce on • April 17 — there would not:; be any corresponding de- i crease "in the price of film soon, said Mr D. H. Hone- ' Cross, the national sales!! manager (industrial) fori; Agfa-Gevaert New Zealand, Ltd.' in Auckland. : Agfa, like other film sup- < pliers in New Zealand, had been forced to increased prices from January after i the rapid rise ■ in silver i prices from mid-1979 on-h wards. The cost of polyester,; an oil-based product which formed the base of film, also: had increased significantly, i Suppliers were paying two' 1

'to three times as muu. — bring film in to New Zea-, land as they had at this' time last year. Interest rates on loans to import large! quantities of film were now' ’up to 20 per cent. The main film manufac-i turers had 'suffered heavy! financial losses because of | the unexpected silver-price i , escalation. Silver for film; production still had to be! bought at “astronomically high prices” whereas it had | been impossible to change, the market prices overnight. Silver prices were still not stable in the world market and the activities of people such as the Texas billionaire. Nelson Bunker Hunt, who had been speculating in The market, had added to the (uncertainty. j “When the market has] settled and when the industry heals its wounds,] then we will certainly look at ways of getting the prices down.” said Mr Hope-Cross. i Increases in prices [depended largely on the [film’s silver content. One of the worst hit had been X-ray film, which contained iabout 75 per cent more sillver than ordinary film.

tne aneir price lur a box of Agfa’s chest X-ray film, 100 sheets of 14in by 17in film, had increased from SBl last year to $265. Price increases for ordinary film have not been quite as dramatic. A 35mm ;36-exposure slide . film has i risen from about; $10.60 to $12.50 and in some cases to more than $l3, about a 20 ]per cent increase. I The price. of colour prints I has also increased because 'of silver contend of the paper. A standard print is now about 42c, am increase of about 4c on last year’s price. Kodak, Hanimex (supplier of Fuji film), and H. E. Perrv. Ltd, (supplier of ll- ■ ford film) all say that they I have had no indication from I the overseas manufacturers as to whether the price of 'film is likely to drop. Most suppliers say that it is some time since prices increased significantly. The sales manager of Hanimex New Zealand, Ltd, Mr N. said it would be the end of the year before the price came down, if it reduced! at all.