J) Black Market

Black Market

Naturally, a black market was established. Food was brought to the Camp surreptitiously by Orientals and sold to internees at high prices. The buyers re-sold at still higher prices to cover their risks, which were considerable, for they had no remedy against ‘double-crossing’ or confiscation, both of which were frequent. The profits of this business were advanced to responsible persons against cheques or promissory notes payable after the war. Rates of exchange were sometimes unconscionable, but people were inclined to be philosophic about this, for if they possessed a few thousands of pounds in investments, it seemed worth while to spend a few hundreds to save their lives. At 20 yen to the £, eggs at 35 yen each were costing 35/-!  Australian corned mutton at that period (early 1945) sold for Y380 a 12 ounce tin, which equalled £19!

The Japanese Commandant of the Camp was frequently changed. One of the Commandants interested himself in the Black Market, and diverted to it part of the more saleable portion of the rations and canteen supplies (eg: peanut oil and egg yolks). It became necessary to warn those in possession of funds that in buying these items they were encouraging robbery of the whole community.

Thousand of yen were paid by the Japanese, or Formosan, guards for articles of jewellery and watches. Thus, an individual who sold a £2 watch for Y1,000, actually paid about 15/- for a 12 oz tin of mutton. This different standard of value acted adversely in regard to those who had paid dearly for their yen with post-war cheques; they found market prices forced up against them by those whose money had been obtained more cheaply.

Despite occasional losses and ‘beatings-up’, the black market traders were on a pretty good wicket. The current week’s profits, loaned out by them to responsible firms, and distributed by the firms to their employees, were spent by those individuals in the next few days, whereby the traders were again in possession of large quantities of yen which were sold again and came back to them again in trade, and so ad infinitum. They were rolling a financial snowball, which quickly grew to large dimensions.