Vol. XVIII. No. 447. 



THE AQRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



189 



SUGAR PRODUCTION IN THE BRITISH 

 EMPIRE. 



An interesting article on the production of cane sugar 

 in the British Empire, and the possibilities of the future 

 with regard to this industry appeared in The Times Trade 

 Supplement, May 10, 1919. Much of this article is repro- 

 duced below. 



Now that Imperial preference is to become an accom- 

 plished fact with preferential duties on Empire-grown sugar 

 imported into the United Kingdom, it will be of interest to 

 review the position of the sugar industry in those countries of 

 the Empire where it is carried on. 



The sugar-producing countries of the Empire are India, 

 Egypt, Australia and Fiji, Mauritius, the Union of South 

 Africa, and the West Indies, including British Guiana. 

 India in 1917 produced 2,626,000 tons of crude sugar, all of 

 which was consumed in the country. In addition, 542,000 

 tons were imported. In the ordinary course the sugar pro 

 duced in Mauritius is shipped to India, its natural market, 

 but during the war it has been diverted to the United 

 Kingdom, whilst .lava sugar has taken its place in the 

 Indian market. 



The output of sugar in Mauritius in 1916 was 214,-518 

 tons, which was a little less than the average of the three 

 preceding years, and the bulk of the crop was purcha.sed by 

 H.M. Government at£17 perton. The normnl production may 

 be reckoned at 250,000 tons a year. If the export of sugar 

 from Mauritius returns in due course to its normal direction 

 and is shipped to India, Mauritius cannot be reckoned as 

 a source of supply for the United Kingdom. But if India 

 largely increases her output to a figure sufficent to meet the 

 whole of her requirements, the sugar of Mauritius would once 

 more become available for shipment to the United Kingdom. 



In Egypt sucrar-cane cultivation is in a flourishing 

 condition. In 1915 nearly 100,000 tons of sugar were 

 manufactured from home-grown cane, and in addition, 

 a quantity of raw sugar was imported from abroad and 

 refined. There is also a considerable export trade in sugar 

 from Egypt, which amounted in 1915 to 26,000 tons. The 

 net result, however, is that the output of sugar is only 

 slightly greater than the consumption. Though Egypt may 

 be expfcted to remain self-supplying, she is not likely to pro- 

 duce any considerable surplus of sugar for export. 



Turning to Australia we find that some 250,000 tons 

 were produced in Queensland in 19 1-"), and a large quantity 

 also was imported from Fiji, Java, Peru, and elsewhere to 

 meet the home requirements of the Commonwealth. More 

 than half the sugar produced in Fiji is exported to New 

 Zealand and is sufficient to supply practically the whole of 

 the requirements of that Dominion. The remainder of Fiji's 

 export of sugar goes to Australia and Canada. Neither 

 Australia nor Fiji can yet be regarded as potential sources of 

 supply of sugar for the United Kingdom. 



The Union of South Africa in 1917 proluced 114,.300tons 

 of sugar. During the past ten years the sugar industry in 

 Natafhas developed apace, but notwithstanding the increase 

 ki the tonnage manufactured, the home production is not yet 

 equal to the demand, and there is room for further extension. 



In the West Indies, under the stimulus of high prices, a 

 •onsiderable increase in production has taken jilace, and it 

 is safe to say that this increase would have been much greater 

 had it not been for the various handicapping facto-s already 

 mentioned, such as doubt as t'l how long the high prices 

 will last, and shipping difficulties, as well as the absence on 

 war service of many planters whose activities in developing 

 the industry would no doubt have resnlte I in the achievement 



of greater progress. In Trinidad the exports of sugar 

 rose from -50,000 tons in 1915 to over 57,000 tons in 1916; 

 in Barbados the increase was from 30,000 tons in 1915 to over 

 55,000 tons in 1916. In Jamaica the revival of the sugar 

 industry is being vigorously prosecuted, and as long as favour- 

 able conditions continue, th« colony can be relied on to increase 

 its prnduction. The exports rose from 15,000 tons in 1915 

 to 28,000 tons in 1916 In Antigua exports increased from 

 11,000 tons in 1915 to over 18,000 tons in 1916, and in the 

 Presidency of St. Kitts- Nevis exports were nearly 16,000 tons 

 in 1916, as compared with 8,300 tons in 1915. In the 

 central factories of Antigua and St. Kitts the process of 

 converting the cane juice into sugar has been brought to a 

 high state of efficiency. Exports of sugar from St. Lucia 

 also have increased considerably during the war. 



The effect of the war on sugar production in British 

 Guiana has been to extend the area under s'lgar-cane slightly, 

 and to increase the quantity produced about 10 per cent. The 

 good prices obtained for sugar have made the period a 

 prosperous one for sugar estate proprietors. The additional 

 acreage planted wiih cane, however, only brings the area up 

 to the level of ten years ago. No remarkable increase in 

 exports has taken place, and it wouUl appear that no great 

 extension of sugar production can be expected until the 

 necessary labour is provided. 



Our greatest hope of any large increase of sugar 

 production within the Empire lies in India. India produces 

 2^ million tons of sugar a year, but has the lowest yield per 

 acre of any of the great sugar-producing countries. The 

 average yield of sugar in India is only about a ton and a 

 quarter per acre, whereas in other countries, sich as Java and 

 Cuba, over 3 tons are obtained, whilst in Hawaii a yield 

 of 5 tons of sugar per acre has been reached. If India's 

 yield per acre could be doubled, and at the samo time the 

 method of sugar extraction improved so as to yield for the 

 most part aproduct suitable for international trade — at present 

 it is only of a kind for local use — India would produce enough 

 sugar to meet the whole of her consumption and to provide a 

 surplus almost equal to the requirements of the United King- 

 dom, which may be reckoned at roughly 1 \ million tons a year. 

 The Agricultural Department of the Government of India 

 is giving a great deal of attention to the subject, and when 

 the vast benefit to be derived by the native cultivator and 

 the population of India as a whole by a large increase of 

 production is contemplated, there would seem to be ample 

 ground for generous expenditure and extension of the efforts 

 that are being made to attain this end. The questions which 

 are being studied are the improvement of the canes cultivated 

 witli a view to a Urger yield of sugar per acre, and the 

 improvement of the methods of sugar extraction, which are at 

 present careless and wasteful. 



A note in Revisia de Agricultura de Porto Rii./, 

 February 1919, states that in the experiments which 

 Dr. F. S. Earle of the Dt-partment of Agriculture of the 

 United States has undertaken on the south coast of the 

 island with the co-operation of the Guanica Central Factoiy, 

 only one variety of sogar-cane out of some hundred varieties 

 planted has shown no symptoms of the disease known as 

 mjttling or yellow stripe, which has caused such anxiety to 

 cane planters in Pirto Rico. This immune variety is a 

 Japanese sugar-cane named Kavangerie. Twelve plantings 

 of this variety have recently been planted in plots on the 

 Insular Experiment Station, and up to now they have been 

 found completely resistant to the disease. 



