Copra From Tonga Helping Britain

Grey River Argus, 21 March 1947, Page 7

Copra From Tonga Helping Britain

WELLINGTON, March 19.

“A guaranteed price for copra was recently given by the United Kingdom for four years to Tonga, and the whole of her exports goes to that country,” said Mr C. W. T. Johnson, British Agent and Consul in Tonga, who is spending three months’ holiday in New Zealand. Tonga, along with the other island territories which are economically dependent on the export of copra, is enjoying a period of prosperity at the moment, he said. Last year the Government of Tonga expressed a desire to help in the world food crisis, and it was informed that the best way it could help would be to increase the output of copra, which was particularly valuable to England for the fats and oils which were extracted for the manufacture of margerine and soap. The result was that during the next three months, the output of copra was more than 70 per cent, above that produced in the corresponding three months of the previous year. ... , Copra has been coming in in such quantities that the Government has unable to find sufficient storage space.’ Tonga sent the whole of her fruit crop to New Zealand and were it not for the shortage of shipping space a greater quantity could be shipped. The majority of her imports come from New Zealand. £