THE CUBA REVIEW 



29 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY 



SUGAR IN SAO PAULO 



The cultivation of sugar pane is one of the 

 oldest industries in tlie State of Sao Paulo, 

 and 50 years ago the exportation of cane 

 sugar was of greater importance than that of 

 cofTci-, while in 1825 it represented 50 per 

 cent of the exportation of the State. 



In recent j^ears, the industrj' has again 

 come into importance through the in- 

 creased local demand and the advantage 

 sugar produced in the State has over that im- 

 ported from other parts of the Republic in the 

 way of lower charges and freedom from certain 

 imposts levied by the exporting States. 

 Furthermore, improved methods in the sugar 

 mills have contributed much to the rehabilita- 

 tion of the industry, the mills in the cities of 

 Piracicabu, Capivary, Lorena, Santa Rosa, 

 and Santa Barbara being of the m.ost modern 

 type. 



Impurln of Sugar Through Satilos. 



In spite of the increased output of sugar 

 in the State, it is still necessary to import con- 

 siderable quantities from other parts of the 

 Republic. In 1914 there was a to.al of 164,- 

 015,092 pounds im.ported from other states, 

 and in 1915, 139,723,784 pounds. 



The part of the State where sugar cane is 

 most cultivated is that which is nearest Rio 

 de Janeiro, in the arm lying between the 

 State of Minas Geraes and the sea, the crop 

 being the most profitable one that can be 

 Taised in that territory. It has been found, 

 however, that a locality in the northern part of 

 the State in the parishes of Ribeirao Preto 

 and Sao Simao is best adapted to its culture, 

 but owing to the fact that the land in this 

 region produces larger returns when planted to 

 coflFee, the sugar industry naturally receives 

 little attention, although as m.uch as 35 tons 

 per acre has been produced there. 



Co.sl of Production. 



The average production per acre in the 

 regions where it is most cultivated averages 

 about 15 tons. The average cost of pro- 

 ducing sugar cane is about $2.50 per ton, 

 although it is reported to be as low as $1 per 

 ton in one locaUty and as high as $3 in of ers. 

 Field hands working in sugar can receive 

 about 75 cents per daj' and the workers in the 

 mills receive about §1.25 per day. The sac- 



charine content fluctuates between 9° and U° 

 B. The percentage of saccharose varies from 

 10 to 18 per cent, according to locality and the 

 weather. The production of rum per 100 gal- 

 Ions of molasses varies from 32 to 40 gallons. 



Output of the Sugar Mills. 



There are 15 large mills in the State that 

 have a capitalization of $4,000,000 and a pro- 

 ductive capacity of about 600,000 sacks of 

 132 pounds each, or 39,600 short tons per 

 year. The production has never reached this 

 figure, however, the output for the five years 

 beginning with the 1910-11 season having 

 been as follows, in short tons: 1910-] 1, 26,306; 

 1911-12, 28,401; 1912-13, 27,365; 1913-141 

 26,806, and 1914-15, 35,659 tons. 



The statistics for the 1915-16 crop are not 

 yet available, but the production is officially 

 estimated at 37,620 tons. The principal fac- 

 tories belong to a French company. 



In addition to these factories there are some 

 3,000 small mills operated by planters. These 

 mills produce only unrefined kettle sugar and 

 rum, and no statistics as to their output are 

 available, but inasmuch as this raw sugar en- 

 ters quite extensively into strictly local com- 

 merce the amount produced probably equals 

 that of the large mills. 



The large mills also produce considerable 

 quantities of alcohol and rum, the amounts in 

 1914-15 having been 1,076,997 gallons of alco- 

 hol and 61,136 gallons of rum. The produc- 

 tion of both articles for the entire State in 1914- 

 15, including both the factories and the small 

 mills, was 30,056,898 gallons. — Consul General 

 Charles L . Hoover, Sao Paulo. 



CUBA'S SOIL 



The International Sugar Journal oi London, 

 in the April number, comments forcefully on 

 the present method of cane cultivation in 

 Cuba. According to this authority the 

 wisdom of the methods adopted in Cuba 

 of working the virg'n soil to more or less 

 exhaustion does not allow any regard to the 

 needs of a future generation of tillers. Cuba's 

 vast forest lands are rapidly being depleted 

 and planted to cane; therefore, after a lapse 

 of time the Cuba cane planters will face a 

 serious problem, those of the Western part of 

 Cuba first, because the Eastern end of Cuba 

 still possesses vast tracts of forest land. 



