34 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



The Cuban Commission, consisting of Col. Jose Miguel Tarafa, Senor Jose Ignazio Lazama, 

 and Senor Morales, the envoys of the Cuban Government sent to Washington by President 

 Menocal, accompanied by Doctor Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, Cuban Minister to the United 

 States, have been in conference with the United States Food Administration, and although no 

 definite announcement of the outcome of this meeting has, as yet, come to hand, it is under- 

 stood that an amicable arrangement has, or will be entered into to secure an adequate maxi- 

 mum price for the Cuban new crop. In this respect, it was announced today by the United 

 States Food Administration that when new crop conditions obtain, it is the expectation of the 

 Food Administration that conditions very nearly normal will exist and that prices will fluctuate, 

 approaching, but not surpassing, the hmit placed by the United States Food Administration. 



Refined sugar has been restricted as to sale, owing to scarcity of raw sugars, and it has 

 become more and more difficult to buy refined. 



The Arbuckle refinery has been closed down for quite a time now, and at the first of 

 this week, the large Havemeyer and Elder refinery of the American Sugar Refining Company 

 closed down also. In the meantime, many refiners have withdrawn from the refined sugar mar- 

 ket as far as new business is concerned, but are closing out old contracts. Other refiners have 

 a small stock of refined on hand, which they are dealing out in a moderate way to their regular 

 customers. 



The Food Administration's announcement that prices west of Chicago and St. Louis 

 would be 7.25c. less 2%, Seaboard cane basis, went into effect on October 1st, but owing to 

 scarcity of sugar in that section, prices are not down to the 7.25c. level, as yet 



As regards New York, the price of refined is 8.40c. less 2%, from the beginning of the 

 present report, down to and including the first of October, when the lowest quotation was re- 

 duced to 8.35c. less 2%. Some refiners have been from the first of October to date, maintain- 

 ing the price slightly above this basis, but we expect that very shortly all refiners will be on the 

 same basis, or at least, not above 8.35c. less 2%. 



WTLLETT & GRAY. 



New York, N. Y., October 11th, 1917. 



INDIA'S SUGAR YIELD 



The Indian Department of Statistics has 

 issued its first memorandum on the sugar- 

 cane crop of 1917-18, basing its calculations 

 upon reports received from Provinces that 

 contain 95.3 per cent of the area under cane in 

 British India. As given in the Indian (Gov- 

 ernment) Trade Journal for August 24, the 

 total area is estimated at 2,442,000 acres, as 

 against 2,242,000 acres a year ago, or an in- 

 crease of 9 per cent. (Madras, containing 

 3.8 per cent of the total, has been excluded 

 from this forecast). 



The present estimate, as compared with that 

 at the corresponding date of last year, shows 

 an increase of 24 per cent in the Punjab, 15 

 per cent in Bombay and Sind, 10 per 

 cent in the United Provinces, and 9 per cent 

 in the Central Provinces and Berar. On the 

 other hand, Bengal and the Northwest 

 Frontier Province show a decrease of 6 per 

 ■cent each, Assam 3 per cent, and Bihar and 

 Orissa 2 per cent. 



Weather conditions at sowing time were 

 -favorable, and prospects of the crop are so 

 far good. 



STATE SUGAR IN ITALY 



The GacetiaUfficiale published at Rome on 

 June 30, 1917, contains the Finance .Minis- 

 ter's decree increasing the price of "State 

 sugar." It provides that, beginning July 1, 

 1917, the price at which "State sugar" shall 

 be sold to the public shall be fixed at 6.50 

 lire (SI. 25) per box, containing 1 kilo net 

 (2.2 pounds). 



The recompense granted to title owners of 

 deposits where "State sugar" is distributed 

 is fixed at 0.25 lire per kilo net, and in con- 

 sequence the selling price of "State sugar" 

 to the title owners of the deposit is 6.25 lire 

 per net kilo. 



A degree published in the GazetleUfficiale of 

 April 4 fixes the price at which saccharine, 

 saccharinate of sodium, and the so-caUed 

 "State" sugar may be sold to the pubUc at 

 400 lire, 350 lire, and 5.50 lire per net kilo, re- 

 spectively. (At normal exchange the lire is 

 worth 19.3 cents, but the New York quota- 

 tion for it on May 10 was about 14.2 cents. 

 The kilo is equivalent to 2.2046 pounds 

 avoirdupois). — ConsulGeneral David F. Wilber, 

 Genoa. 



