THECUBAREVIEW 33 



SUGAR REVIEW 



Specially written for The Cuba Review by Willett & Gray, New York, N. Y. 



Our last report for this magazine was dated June 10th, 1918. 



On June 21st the International Sugar Committee, in charge of the sugar supply announced 

 that effective on June 24th, the basic i>rice of raws upon which refiners' selling margin must be 

 based would be G.Oooc. per pound delivered, duty paid, for 96° test Centrifugals, New York; 

 this advance of five (5) points over ])revit)us basis being occasioned by the increase in cf)st of 

 war risk insurance on sugars imi)orted. This change docs not affect the cost and freight price 

 of Cuban sugars, however, which remains imchanged at 4.98oc. The full duty c. i. f. price, 

 however, is advanced to 4.799c. against 4.749c. c. i. f. formerly, and the c. i. f. Porto 

 Rico price is now 6.055c. The quotation on which Demerara and other Canadian i)rcferential 

 sugars is based is 5.20c. c. i. f., New York. 



On June 27th the International Sugar Committtee also announced the purchase of an 

 additional 250,000 tons of Cuba sugar under the July option in Paragraph 4 of the Cuban 

 agreement, making the total quantity of Cubas now purchased 3,000,000 tons. The additional 

 option expiring in August, covering another 250,000 tons and also whatever balance of the crop 

 is obtainable has not yet been taken U]>. In tliis connection it is interesting to note that Mr. 

 Himely maintains an estimate of 3,450,000 tons for the Cuba crop according to recent advices, 

 against Messrs. Guma-Mejer's estimate of 3,250,000 tons. We estimate the production to 

 date as 2,933,116 tons, with 28 centrals still at work. 



Our Java advices by cable give exports during the month of ]May as 136,000 tons, of 

 which quantity only 12,000 tons are destined for Europe and the remaining 124,000 tons to the 

 Far East. The following from one of our well informed correspondents in that Island recently 

 received might be of interest: 



"Our market is very dull and the freighting difficulties prohibit the forecasting of an im- 

 provement in the near future. Whilst Java Whites have been sold during the month of Febru- 

 ary at f. 9H first cost and Java Browns (No. 16 and higher) at f. 8.— first cost of Felbruar>-- 

 March deliveries, recent business has been done in Whites at f. 9 — per picul f. o. b. for March- 

 April delivery and at the present time although the Java Sugar Trust (who control the unsold 

 sugars ex the 1917 crop) would be wilHng sellers at the same basis or probably a little lower, 

 there are no merchants interested as buyers at the present juncture. 



"At the time of writing it is reported that purchase of about 2,000 tons of Browns from the 

 forthcoming crop at the price of f. 7% first cost, with the option of dehvering Muscovadoes at 

 the price of f . 7M has taken place. 



"It is estimated that about 400,000 tons of Java 1917 crop is still unsold, but we are not 

 in a position to give an opinion on this estimate. As regards the consuming markets open to 

 Java, British India at the present is fairly well supplied, and there is no apparent anxiety on 

 the part of that market to purchase forward. Furthermore, it is impossible at the present to 

 fix freight to British India except for shipments to Calcutta only. 



"China market is spasmodic and the demand is erratic, owing to the continued disruption 

 to the trad'^ in China caused by the political differences between the North and the South. 



"For other consuming markets Java is entirely dependent on account of the question of 

 tonnage and, as you may well understand, this position does not show any prospect of improve- 

 ment." 



Exports from the Philippine Islands during May amounted to 34,000 tons, of which quan- 

 tity 4,000 tons comes to San Francisco and the balance to other countries. 



Prospects for our domestic beet crop this year do not appear over bright at this WTiting, 

 owing to the late Spring and other contributing causes, including the higher prices obtainable 

 by the farmers for other crops than beets. We have not as yet made our own estimate of the 

 production, but one figure has already been given of 604,000 long tons, and we are not inclined 

 to look foi a much, if any, larger figure. Conditions in the Louisiana cane fields are much better, 

 however, and that crop holds forth excellent promise, although at the present time moie rain 



