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THE CUBA REVIEW 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY 



GOVERNMENT-AIDED SUGAR CENTRAL FOR 

 JAMAICA 



On December 7, 1918, telegraphic au- 

 thority was received by the Governor of 

 Jamaica from Mr. Walter Long, Secre- 

 tary of State for the Colonies, for the 

 establishment of a sugar "central" with 

 Government aid in the Parish of St. 

 Thomas. This factory will probably be 

 of 5,000 to 8,000 tons annual capacity. 

 This is the first definite result of the 

 campaign being waged by sugar planters 

 of Jamaica for the development of the 

 local sugar industry. 



The increased interest in sugar here in 

 Jamaica may be traced to two chief fac- 

 tors: the high prices and the great de- 

 mand brought about by the war have 

 made the industry extremely profitable. 

 Moreover, severe hurricanes for three 

 years in succession, 1915, 1916, and 1917, 

 caused heavy losses to banana planters 

 and led them to give more attention to 

 sugar cane, a crop less easily destroyed. 



Plan Meeting with Strong Local Support 



The Jamaica Imperial Association and 

 the Jamaica Sugar Committee, represent- 

 ing the greater part of the agricultural 

 interests of the island, have been working 

 for the establishment of central factories 

 in the principal sugar districts, to be 

 constructed with Government aid and op- 

 erated under Government control. Meet- 

 ings were held in the chief centers and 

 pledges obtained from the planters and 

 small farmers in order to assure the 

 necesary acreage. 



Because of labor and social conditions 

 generally, it is believed that the output 

 of sugar can best be increased and stabil- 

 ized through the increased acreage 

 planted on the small individual holdings. 

 The larger planters, however, are chiefly 

 interested, and one company has pledged 

 itself to plant 10,000 additional acres 

 when the "central" is assured. 



The approval of the St. Thomas "cen- 

 tral" scheme is taken as full assurance of 

 the gradual extension of the subsidized 

 factories over the island, and bids fair to 



make Jamaica a strong factor in the 

 sugar trade. — Consul Charles E. Asbury, 

 Port Antonio. 



THE WORLD'S PRICES OF SUGAR 



The table printed below shows the 

 enormous difference in the prices of sugar 

 in the various countries. The prices are 

 wholesale: 



Country £ s d 



Java 9 8 



Denmark 1 15 



United States 1 16 4 



Germany 2 2 



Sweden 2 3 9% 



Holland 2 5 9 



Switzerland 2 18 



Spain 2 18 



England 3 6 



Poland 3 2 1% 



Austria 3 2 5 



Norway 3 11 2 



France 4 10 5 



Hungary 4 11 10% 



Italy 5 16 10% 



The Ukraine 28 18 



The striking difference between the 

 prices in Java and the Ukraine is solely 

 due to the question of supply and de- 

 mand. In Java immense quantities of 

 raw sugar are held up by the shortage of 

 tonnage, and the supply exceeds the de- 

 mand; in the Ukraine, on the other hand, 

 not so much beet sugar is available as 

 was at first supposed, and the demand 

 exceeds the supply. — "The National Food 

 Journal." 



BEET SUGAR CAMPAIGN IN SPAIN 



According to statistics published by the 

 Director General of the Spanish Customs, 

 the quantity of sugar beet entered the 

 sugar mills in Spain from July 1 to Octo- 

 ber 30, 1918, was 172,291 tons, while the 

 sugar produced was 15,936 tons. These 

 figures show a decrease, compared with 

 the corresponding months of the year be- 

 fore, of 42,326 tons of sugar beet and 

 1,486 tons of sugar. — Consul General C.B. 

 Hurst, Barcelona. 



