418 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 31, 1904. 



Afi.v>ciaiioii Wcrldu Cirvtihtr: 'Sea Island descrip- 

 tions have bf^en ne^dected. The (| notations for fancy 

 •Georgia and Florida arc reduced {d. per ft. Forwarded 

 sthis week 26U bales Sea Island.' And again a week 

 dater: 'Sea Island descriptions are in limited demand 

 ■at unchanged rates. Forwarded this week 23.5 bales.' 

 ■ Similarly with Egyptian, it was reported that a limited 

 Ijusiness had been done and quotations had not 

 undergone much change, varying according to quality 

 from 7{J. to Hid. A similar, but on the whole 

 ■a more hopeful, position exists in the iVmerican 

 Sea. Island markets : Messrs. Frost & Co. report 

 that at Charleston the market remains steady and 

 unchanged with a continued demand, and the last 

 report (dated November 2.5) from Messrs. W. W. 

 Gordon & Co. states that the market 'continued 

 .quiet and steady, with a good demand at full 

 prices.' The quotations, contained in Messrs. Frost's 

 report for December .'}, will be found on p. 405 

 of this volume of the Agricultural Xca-s. The 

 ■quotations the following week were unchanged e.xcej^t 

 for a decline of .'>o. for tine to fidly fine. 



It will thus be seen that while the market for 

 •ordinary Upland has been affected to a considerable 

 ■extent by the largely increased supplies, the Sea 

 Island market (and the Egyptian also to some extent) 

 has remained steady. The reason for this will readily 

 "be seen if we look to the crop estimates of the Sea 

 Island sorts. The present crop is estimated at from 

 82,000 to 84,000 bales, as against 75,683 bales for the 

 last crop, and 105,955 bales for the year before. The 

 increase in production, therefore, is very slight, and 

 ■consequently there has been nothing, so far at all 

 events, to cause an a{)preciable fall in prices. 



What it is desired to impress upon cotton 

 growers in the West Indies is the fact that 

 the mai-kets for Upland and Sea Island cotton are 

 entirely distinct. A decline in prices of Upland does 

 not neces.sarily cause a corresponding decline in Sea 

 Island. There is, therefore, no need for cotton planters 

 here to take alarm at the somewhat sensational notices 

 that appear from time to time with regard to 

 fluctuations in the cotton market. They have to 

 remember that, while the price of Upland cotton 

 may be affected by large supplies or sjDeculation, 

 they have in Sea Island cotton a product for which 

 there is a special market anil a limited supply. The 

 production is not likely to be increased to such 

 -an extent as to cause prices to drop below a figure at 

 ivhich its cultivation is remunerative. Provided that 

 jeasonable care be taken in producing and marketing 



Sea Island cittton of the highest quality, there appears 

 to be no reason to doubt but that ])riees during the next 

 season will bo such as to leave a good margin of profit. 

 In the opini(jn of those who are acquainteil with all the 

 facts and circumstances of the case, the price of fine 

 Sea Island cotton is not likely to drop at any time 

 below l.s. per lb. 



Even in the event of an appreciable decline in 

 the price of Sea Island cotton, we are inclined to think 

 that this would ultimately have a beneficial effect. At 

 its present high price, Sea Island cotton is out of the 

 reach of many manufacturers who would be likely to 

 use it if the price fell. Once Sea Island cotton had 

 found a wider use, it is unlikely that, when the price 

 rose again as a natural consequence of this increased 

 demand, it would be discarded for a return to the 

 common grades. 



It would appear, therefore, that from a general 

 review of the situation as existing to-day, the jn-ospects 

 of the growers of Sea Island cotton are as satisfactory 

 as they can be ; and no alarm need be felt at the 

 movements that are taking place on the ordinary 

 cotton market. They may have a temporary quieting 

 effect upon the demand for Sea Island cotton, but the 

 West Indies are aiming to supph' an article which is 

 practically unaffected by these movements. 



SUGAR INDUSTRY. 



Markets for West Indian Sugar. 



The following is a memorandum, prepared by the 

 Vice-President of the Westmoreland (Jamaica) Planters' 

 Association, upon the situation with regard to the sugar 

 market, which was adopted by the association at 

 a meeting on December 7. 



It would be well, however, to mention that 

 recently, Canada has been giving better prices to West 

 Indian growers : — ■ 



The price of centrifugals in New York to-day is 4-^0. 

 per lb., the price of beet, f.o.b. Hamburg, is 14.*!. CiJ. per 

 cwt., equal to -^-lic. in New York; that is to saj-, whereas 

 beet sugar would costO'12c. ]ier lb., duty paid delivered in 

 Xew York, centrifugids can be had tliere for 4|c., a difference 

 of ye. per lb., or £1 Ion. 9(/. per ton against cane sugar. 



The reason of this difference in price is obvious. 



Xew York otters, and Cuba accepts, a price lower than 

 the parity of beet, because Cuban sugars go into Xew York 

 at a reduction on the United States import duties of 20 per 

 cent., or about 34s. per ton; that is to say, Cuban sugar being 

 bounty fed by the United States to the extent of 33s. per 

 ton, 4i|c. per ft), is to Cuba as good as 5-12c. per tt). to, say, 

 the British West Indies. 



