December i, 1904.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



93 



RECENT RUBBER STATISTICS. 



RUBBER PRODUCTION OF LAGOS. 



THE details which follow are derived from the annual re- 

 port on the British colony of Lagos, in west Africa. 

 Prior to 1894 the recorded exports of rubber from Lagos did 

 not exceed £(> %$. in value. Beginning with that year the 

 amount of rubber exported annually for ten years, as recorded 

 in the custom house, has been as follows : 



Pounds. 



>8c)4 5.S67 



'Sqs 5.269.503 



1896 b, 484.363 



■8q7 4.458,327 



1898 3,778,266 



Pounds. 



1899 1,993.525 



rqoo 596.332 



1901 19-4.277 



igo2 151,440 



1903 13>.3'I 



The report says: In 1899 the collecting of rubber was some- 

 what abruptly checked by the death of some 75 per cent, of all 

 the rubber trees in the country. At the same time regulations 

 were put in force by the different native authorities to prohibit 

 tapping the trees for a period of four years, to give some 

 chance of recovery to the few weakly trees that survived, and 

 to allow young ones to grow up. Of the rubber exported since 

 1900 a part has come from beyond the Lagos territory, but 

 probably the greater portion of it is rubber that has been col- 

 lected in violation of the restrictions imposed. In 1903 it was 

 found by expert examination of the forests that a considerable 

 quantity of rubber could in the latter half of the year have been 

 collected in some of the provinces; but, after mature delibera- 

 tion, the authorities concerned decided to leave the trees un- 

 tapped for one year more, having been assured that they would 

 thereby obtain a better harvest. It was also arranged that col- 

 lectors should in future be licensed, taught, and registered, so 

 that a more scientifically correct method of collection should 

 take the place of the destructive, ignorant, and reckless pro- 

 cedure practised formerly. 



RUBBER PRODUCTION OF THE GOLD COAST. 

 The annual report for 1903 on the Gold Coast colony (which 

 adjoins Lagos) indicates a revival in the production of rubber. 

 At one time it was feared that a permanent decline had set in, 

 due to the destruction of rubber plants, but the colonial author- 

 ities now hope that this was a mistake, and "that the disturbed 

 state of the hinterlanti in 1900-01 was the main cause of the de- 

 cline." Exports for ten years : 



Pounds. 



IS94 3.027,527 



1895 4,022,385 



1S96 3.735.439 



■897 4,g57,oi6 



iSgS 5,984.984 



Pounds. 



"899 5.572.554 



1900 3,452.440 



I90I 1,520,009 



1902 1,599,971 



1903 2,258,981 



PERU. 



The total exports of rubber are stated, in British consular 

 reports, at 1726 English tons for 1901 ; 1674 tons for I902, and 

 2075 'o"s for 1903. ^^ Rubber exports from Mollendo (on the 

 Pacific coast) for three years are stated — in pounds: 



From Peru. . . 

 From Bolivia 



1901. 



33,600 



616,000 



iqo2. 



67,200 



656,320 



11)03. 



69,440 



687,080 



Total 616,515 649,600 723,520 757,120 



The remainder of the Peruvian output of rubber was shipped 

 from the eastern provinces, down the Amazon. 



ANGOLA (PORTUGUESE WEST AFRICA). 

 [From British Consular Reports ] 



Exports of rubber from Ambriz, Loanda, Benguella, and 

 Massamedes during 1903 reached 2,678,000 kilograms — the 

 largest since 1899, when 3 380.012 kilos were exported. ==Ex- 



ports of Almeidina in 1903 were 68,000 kilos. In addition to the 

 above figures ; exports in 1899 were 123,371 kilos The in- 



creased exports from this section apparently are due to in- 

 creased means for reaching remote supplies, together with the 

 higher prices of rubber. 



A HANDY BOOK OF RUBBER FIGURES. 



' I " HE firm of Alden, Symington & Co., India-rubber mer- 

 A chants (London), have rendered a genuine service to the 

 trade by issuing a little book, under the title " Pard Statistics 

 and Parity Tables," designed for ready reference in connection 

 with prices, stocks, etc. 



In the first place a table is given of equivalent prices of crude 

 rubber — in English and American money per pound, and francs 

 and marks per kilogram. These tables begin with rubber at 6 

 pence [ = 12,'. cents] and, including fractional prices, proceed to 

 55. dd. [ = $i 33;V]. with the corresponding prices in francs and 

 marks. The little table herewith is introduced only to illus- 

 trate the idea ; the complete list in the book gives equivalents 

 for 300 different quotations. Besides, in the book, the English 

 prices are given in the first column : 



PER POUND. 



65 

 70 

 75 

 80 



85 

 qo 



io;4 



7.40 



8.00 



855 



9 12 



9.68 



10 36 



6.00 

 6 50 

 6.93 



7.40 

 7.85 

 8.30 



PER POUND. 



PER KILO. 



Pricr. 

 4 J. 6}4(/. 

 4.f. -iVi'l. 





Alden & Symington's book next contains statistics of the 

 Pari rubber receipts, by months, for a number of years ; the 

 world's visible supplies, month by month ; and Liverpool prices 

 of Par,! sorts. Each table includes blank spaces, in which future 

 stocks and prices may be entered, to the end of 1909. A few 

 figures have been compiled from the book, relating to the world's 

 visible supply of Para rubber and Liverpool prices, as follows : 



1900. 



Tons. 



Highest stocks, end of February 5513 



Lowest stocks, end of September 2216 



1901. 



Highest stocks, end of March 5177 



Lowest stocks, end of August 2239 



1902. 



Highest stocks, end of March 5723 



Lowest stocks, end of September 2596 



1903. 



Highest stocks, end of March 4558 



Lowest stocks, end of September 1676 



1904. 



Highest stocks, end of January 37 '4 



Lowest stocks, end of June 1677 



A study of these figures will show that the course of rubber 

 prices does not always follow the rise or decline of stocks ; for 

 instance, the price of fine rubber was the same on March 31 and 

 September 30, 1902, although the reported visible supplies at 

 the later date were less than half as large as at the earlier date. 

 Another point of interest is that the lowest figure in stocks is 

 usually reached at the same time, year after year — just before 

 the arrival of new crop rubber— while the largest stocks, at the 

 practical close of the crop season, also occur at about the same 

 period annually. 



I Vid. 

 '/id. 



3s. ol4d. 



AS- md. 



AS. A\4d. 

 4-f- q^i'a. 



