52 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



February 19, 1910. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



12/- 

 10/6 



8/- 

 7/- 



•Tuly. 



to 15/- 



to 11/- 

 to 8/- 



September. November. 



THE PROSPECTS OP VANILLA-GROWING. 



Enquiries have recently been received by the Imperial 

 Department of Agriculture as to the prospects of vanilla- 

 growing in the West Indies, and the advisability of the exten- 

 sion of its cultivation. An increased demand has arisen in 

 certain of the markets; by some, the reason for this is stated 

 to be the recent passing of a pure food law in the United 

 States. The chief competitor with vanilla is vanillin, which 

 is artificially iiroduced I'rom eugenol, a constituent of oil of 

 cloves. The pure food law, to which reference has just been 

 made, makes it imperative, in relation to vanilla, that all 

 packages containing artificial vanillin shall have a declaration 

 to that effect on the wrapper or label, and it is explained in 

 some quarters, that this has decreased the sale of this product 

 in favour of that of vanilla. The Department has obtained 

 definite opinions in regard to the prospects in the vanilla 

 markets of London and New York; before giving these, it will 

 be convenient to review the general position. 



The following were the prices of vanilla on the London 

 Market (Messrs. Dal ton it Young) in -July, September and 

 November, 1909, as given in the Journal d'Af/ficu/ture 

 1'iopica/e: — 



SEYC'HELLKS. 



Description. 



Fine (long) 



Fair 



Fair to good 



Red and split 



MAURITIUS. 



Description. 

 Good 



Fair (long) 

 Ordinary (long) 

 Fair to good 

 Ordinary (short) 

 Fair (short) 



The remarks'' in connexion with the above were as 

 follows: — 



July 1909.- 

 Tropiriile, No. 97.) 



Septiuiber. — 'Only lOS boxes were offered. There ha.s, 

 however, icen a large demand for the article, and the prices 

 realized are higher by del. to 2s. per lb. than those of last 

 month.' {Journal d'Af/rirultiini Trnpirale, No. 69.) 



November. — 'There was an extremely poor supply, 

 amounting to 138 boxes. The demand was good, and the 

 whole lot was sold at Is. M. to 2s. Gd. above the ordinary 

 prices.' (Jouriud d'Ar/ricultinr Tropicale, No. 101.) 



Au interesting article entitled ' La Vanille des Colonies 



10/- to 11/- 

 9/6 to 12/- 



11/- to 15/- 

 10/6 to 11/6 



12/ 



10/. 



to 15/- 

 to 10/6 

 8/ .3 to 9/- 

 9,- to 11/6 



7/6 to 8/9 

 8,6 to 9/- 



Denioud good.' {.Juumnl irA'jrivnlture 



Francaises et la Yanilline Chemique' appears in rA<jriculiure 

 Prat i(/iie des I'ays C hands [ov October 1909. In thi.s, it is 

 pointed out that, next to Mexico, the French colonies have 

 become the most important exporters of vanilla. The yro- 

 duction of this sub.stai)ce is, however, becoming a matter of 

 greater difficulty year by year, owing to the lowering of 

 prices that has been brought about by the comi)etition of the 

 artificial jiroduct, vanilhn. 



The following table, showing the quantity of vanilla 

 exported from the French colonies, as well as from other parts 

 of the world, in 1901,1901, and 1908, is taken fnmi the 

 article mentioned: — 



Source. 

 Tahiti 

 JIadagascar 

 ^Martinique 

 Mayotte and its depen 



deucies 

 Guadeloupe 

 Mexico (July to June) 

 Seychelles 



1901, 

 kilos. 

 92,398 

 7,019 

 226 



L364 



1904, 

 kilos. 

 134,405 

 9,289 

 317 



76,094 



1908, 



kilos. 



173,411 



57,285 



1,806 



69,867 



2,591 8,657 30,954 



2.5,588 98,334 108,071 



71,899 41,072 24,776 



The re-exports from France to various countries are also 

 given; from this information, the following is abstracted: — 



Exported to — 



England 



U^nited States 



Germany 



Italy 



Austria-Hungary 



Belgium 



1901, 

 kilos. 



1904, 

 kiios. 

 69,783* 

 249,793 

 71,900 



7,20j 

 16,800 



6,893 



1908, 

 kilos. 

 37,971 

 259,620 

 90,300t 

 78,961 

 24,200 

 7,436 



113,015 



40,200 



4,.500 



10,700 



4,110 



Taken altogether, the figures show that the general pro- 

 duction and consumption of vanilla are decidedly increasing. 

 Toward the end of the article, the following statement is 

 made: 'Up to the present, the large quantities of vanilla 

 produced in the different countries — quantities which have 

 varied between 500 and 600 tons per annum — have always 

 found liuyers. Overproduction, in the true sense of the word, 

 has thus not taken place, .since there are not at present large 

 stocks in hand. But it may be stated definitely, that there is, 

 on one hand, a too abundant production of vanilla, and, on 

 the other hand, this is concurring with a large manufacture 

 of vanillin. This forms an explanation of the low prices that 

 have just been under consideration. 



Reference is ma<le to the American Pure Food Law, 

 'which compels the makers of commodities for consumption 



*In litn.o. 



tin 1!I07. 



