267 



was about 130. Possibly some of those estates had given up sugar 

 cultivation and were planted in bananas. Approximately they might 

 conclude that there were about 100 sugar estates in Jamaica at the 

 present time. 



The Commission was informed that the yield per acre in sugar alone 

 was about one ton, but for each ton of sugar there was usually ob- 

 tained 100 gallons of rum. It was impossible to estimate the real 

 value of the sugar industry in Jamaica, unless they took into conside- 

 ration the whole of the crop — that was the sugar, rum and molasses. 

 Little molasses was exported from Jamaica In other parts of the 

 West Indies, as in Barbados and Antigua, molasses was nearly as 

 valuable as sugar itself. 



As regards the cost of cultivation and of producing sugar per ton ia 

 Jamaica they had had information other than that placed before the 

 Commission Mr Farquharson had stated that the cost of producing 

 sugar alone in Westmoreland was from £6 to £7 per ton. It was 

 mentioned that the cost of producing a ton of sugar and 100 gallons 

 of rum varied considei'ably in each district, it might be from £13 

 to £15, or a little more. As regarded the value of the industry twenty 

 years ago, he found that the value of the sugar and rum exported 

 from Jamaica (in 1882-83) was £800,000. At that time the sugar 

 and rum exported represented 50 per cent, of the total exports of the 

 colony. At the present time (1902-03) the value of the exports of 

 sugar and rum from Jamaica was only 15 per cent, of the total exports 

 of the colony, while the exports of bananas had increased to some- 

 thing like 59 per cent There was, therefore, a shrinkage in the value 

 of the exports of sugar and rum from £800,000 to £324,000 —in other 

 words, the value of sugar had fallen to less than one-half in 20 years 

 As a result of the removal of the bounties the planters and those in- 

 terested in sugar growing in Jamaica should ask themselves, what was 

 the present position of the industry ? The abolition of the bounties 

 was a matter that was strenuously fought for for between 30 and 40 

 years. At last it had come, and become effective within the last two 

 or three months. The position of sugar now was much better than it 

 was before the abolition of the bounties, and in consequence it might 

 be worth while to extend the industry. The position in England was 

 that sugar went into a perfectly open market. Bounty-fed sugar was 

 excluded, and in future it must come into the market on its own 

 merits. The question was, what were the prospects of muscovado sugar 

 produced in Jamaica ? They had a conservative opinion expressed 

 by Mr. Czarnikow, who stated that it was not likely that the 

 price of sugar in the London market would rise above the average 

 price for the last 10 years. He was not in a position to state what 

 the average price of Jamaican sugar for the last 10 years was, but as 

 far as Barbados was concerned it was estimated according to Mr Czar- 

 nikow's forecast that the price of sugar should not fall much below £9 

 per Ion. 



As regards the United States, the position of Jamaican sugar was 

 not 80 uood, as owin» to the abolition of the bounties it would have to 

 meet the general competition of all the world's sugar. As regards 

 Canada, there was a reduction of one-third of the duties in Canada in 

 favour of sugar from the West Indies. In addition to the improved 



