October 1, 1920.1 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



0/ 



To eliminate such susceptible trees. Dr. Rands proposes tap- 

 ping superior trees as often as 5 to 6 times a day. This severe 

 ■overlapping would naturally induce brown bast in the susceptible 

 trees, and those trees remaining healthy would serve as a source 

 of resistant propagating stock. E.xperimcnts were carried out 

 which resulted in the isolation of a high-yielding tree resistant to 

 brown bast. A section of the Economic Garden has 1)cen planted 

 with ofTspring from this tree for the purpose of future study. 



NETHERLAND INDIES RUBBER FACTORY 



The 1919 report of the above concern shows that the company 

 has not had a very favorable year. The capital has been in- 

 creased from fl. 750,000 to fl. 2,500,000, in order to permit of ex- 

 pansion, as at present the general ex])ense is too high for the 

 amount of goods produced. 



Conditions brought about I)y the armistice were responsible for 

 fewer sales, while prices had to be lowered in order to permit 

 competition with imported articles, of which there were large 

 tiuantities in the Netherland East Indies. Further, large sums 

 had to be turned over to buyers of automobile tires and tubes, 

 as it was shown that factory defects developed. In fact, the 

 manufacture of automobile tires had to be temporarily stopped 

 from January 1, 1919. .Mthough many defects were found in 

 solid tires, it has been found that the quality is improving and 

 therefore the manufacture of these will continue. 



IMPORTS OF TIRES 



The following figures show the quantities of automobile and 

 bicycle tires imported into Java and Madura, 



Al'tomobile Tibe-s 



Four Months 

 .Vpril Ended April 



From— 1919 1920 1919 1920 



Ni-lhcrlands ixiiinbcr) 300 253 325 454 



Oreat Britain 614 2,152 1,269 4,237 



France 9,437 4.154 17,426 6,326 



Canada 1,022 



Unitfd States 6,910 3,217 15,505 13,705 



Sinkapore 389 578 3,150 3.761 



lapan 270 3,616 17,477 14,195 



Elsewhere 728 9.626 4.232 6,699 



Totals 18,648 23,596 59,384 50,399 



HicvcLE Tires 



Four Months 

 April Fnded April 

 X .^ A ^ 



From— 1919 1920 1919 1920 



Vethcrlands fiiiilnbcr) 948 948 6,495 



Oreat Britain 588 441 1,673 



United States 650 215 1,004 736 



Singapore 200 50 20O 5,207 



[span 295 30,504 15,058 158,701 



Elsewhere 8.000 208 8,110 208 



Totals 10,093 31,565 25,761 173,020 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY IN THE STRAITS SETTLE- 

 MENTS 



ACCORDING to the report of Consul Edwin N. Gunsaulus, 

 Singapore, the steadily increasing foreign trade of the 

 Straits Settlements, both in imports and exports, during recent 

 years is to a large degree traceable to the remarkable industrial 

 development that has been taking place in Malaya, especially in 

 the cultivation and sale of rubber, which now far outrivals tin 

 as one of the two basic industries of this country. 



The great bulk of the rubber production originates in the 

 Malay Peninsula. The Straits Settlements derives its importance 

 as a market for plantation rubber from the fact that practically 

 the entire rubber trade of the Federated and Non-Federated 

 Malay States is conducted through its ports, Singapore and 

 Penang, and is included on this account in the trade statistics of 

 the colony. 



As illustrating the development of the rubber industry, it only 

 needs to be mentioned that the Malayan exports of this product 

 increased from 430 tons in 1906 to 108,305 tons in 1918, and the 



value from $1,200,000 to $87,758,729. Imports into and exports 

 Irom the Straits Settlements of Para rubber in 1917 and I91S 

 were (1 pictil = 133'/j pounds) : 



Totals 1,623,000 $118,470,334 1,841,000 $87,758,729 



The following table gives the values of raw and manufactured 

 rubber imporied into the Straits Settlements in 1917 and 1918; 



1917 



1918 



Article Quantity Value 

 Raw Materials 



Gutta, inferior founds 7,258 $692,342 



Rubber, Para 57,483 68,859,205 



Manufactured Articles 



India rubber goods ". 121,551 



Quantity 



Value 



4,901 $533,156 



91,496 69,443,015 



158.040 



By countries, imports of india rubber manufactures were as 

 follows : 



Articles .ind Countries 1917 1918 

 India rubber goods, including tires: 



United Kingdom $304,164 $348,414 



.Tapan 181.616 399.854 



Siam and Siamese States 1,56! 5,365 



United States 69,534 298,627 



France 252,750 154,941 



Italy 201,538 78,209 



In imports from the United States appreciable gains appear in 

 rubber tires. 



The outstanding feature of the export trade of the Straits 

 Settlements as concerns the buying .countries is the premier 

 position held by the United States as a purchaser of Straits 

 products and shipments for 1917 and 1918. This is due to a 

 large extent to the extensive buying of crude rubber by .American 

 manufacturers. 



The qainitities and values of raw rubber and gutta percha 

 exported during 1917 and 1918 are given below: 



1917 



1918 



Tons Value 



3,140 $2,610,073 



1.178 124.960 



108,305 87.758,729 



Articles Tons Value 



Gutta pc-rcha 3,875 $1,557,328 



Gutta, inferior 5,148 432,767 



Ruljber, Para 95,476 118,470,176 



.•\ large advance in value is found in gutla percha, while 

 there is a decrease in rubber. In the instance of gutta percha 

 the e.xport value has increased while the quantity exported shows 

 material decrease. 



The following table shows the value of rubber and gutta 

 percha exported during 1917 and 1918 and the principal countries 

 to which these products were shipped : 



Articles and Countries 

 Gutta percha: 



United Kingdom 



C^anada 



France 



Italy 



lapan 



United Slates 



Gutta, inferior: 

 United Kingdom 



Canada 



Japan 



United States . . . 



$850,000 



23,000 



20,000 



30,000 



600,000 



5,476 



18,124 

 399,480 



Rubber, Para; 



United Kingdom 18.201,000 



Canada ' 6,554,000 



Australia 



France 1,034,000 



Italy 1,236,000 



Japan 3,610,000 



United States 84,000,000 



1918 



$2,124,057 

 44,895 

 43,909 

 11,445 

 22,755 

 362,736 



5,717 

 6,36S 



16,010 

 89,959 



7,573.186 

 5,499,199 

 852,562 

 1,438,670 

 2,234,450 

 5,365,920 

 64,719,596 



