372 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



February 1, 1921 



The Rubber Trade in the Far East 



By a Special Correspondent 



MALAYA ciKiuyh attention to tlio fact that tlie Goodyear company lias 



T UK Ri'BBER SUMP is liaving a rousing effect on the people who oflfered 24 million gilders (according to others 19 million) for 



are beginning to think hard about the causes of the situation the estates of the Rotterdam Deli Inpij, which planters claim are 



and means for remedying it. Few are content to leave things „ot worth one-tifth of the above sum. A bona lide planting com- 



at restriction merely. They now realize there are other factors to pa„y, it is said, would suffer eternally from such a bargain, but 



be dealt with besides speculation and manipulation and the the .American manufacturer with an eye to the future, when he 



opinion is expressed that there has been a lot of careless spending „.ill rule the market, can afford such stunts. If planters keep on 



in the past owing to the comparatively large and easy profits that treating such matters lightly, the time is not far off when one by 



were reaped up to quite recently. Because of the rapid growth of one they will be swallowed up by the land-hungry American 



the industry and the great need for planters, it is claimed that manufacturer. 



many men were employed at high salaries as planters who really Therefore, it is hoped producers will awake before it is too 



knew very little about the matter. Some learned their business late, unite, regulate the output and successfully combat the 



and others did not. Now is the time, it is urged, when rigid .Xmcrican menace. 



economy must be practised, but economy born of efficiency, be By the way. .shortly after the above Utter was published, it was 



it understood. reported that British planters were planning, in cooperation with 



Dutch producers, to coitibine in order to control the sale and 



ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN STRAITS SETTLEMENTS AND DUTCH outpu' of rulsber 

 EAST INDIES 



Trade Commissioner John A. Fowler, in his monthly cable reduction of the rubber output 

 from Singapore giving the current economic conditions in the It has been pointed out liy Dutch rubber experts that a general 

 Straits Settlements and Dutch East Indies, states as of January 12, reduction in the output of rubber according to a uniform scheme 

 that the financial situation in both countries has been growing would be neither judicious nor fair to all rubber estates, particu- 

 worse. The Chinese have been and are still holding for better prices larly estates which are just beginning to produce and estates 

 large stocks of export products. In spite of the fact that export which, through climatic or soil conditions or because of former 

 prices of such raw products generally are ruling lower than at error, are now backward. It has been proposed to fix a certain 

 the same period last month, exports are decreasing, as neither maximum reduction per acre and to ask the Government to pro- 

 Europe nor America is actively in the market at present. Conse- hibit free exportation and to introduce an export license system 

 qucntly, export stocks have been accumulating, particularly of rub- for rubber 



ber and tin. Among the Chinese the crisis will probably come dur- In certain rubber circles it is doubted whether the measure to 



ing the second week in February following the Chinese New Year, reduce the output of rubber will succeed. 

 which this year falls on February 8, and it is feared that there 



may be a number of serious failures during this period. It is a ubber notes 



long-established custom among Chinese to settle their outstanding It is reported that the Government will open a new gutta percha 



accounts on their New Year. estate on the East Coast of Sumatra, as continuation of the 



With the above exception there is practically no speculation in experiment made in Atjeh. 



anvthing at the present, and as the western banks have been very a„„,,j:.,„ ,„„,„„»,„» ^i » r uu i j 



- ** . , , - ., , • , .,, .-\ccordnig to a recent report, the amount of rubber now stocked 



cautious it is expected that anv tailures which may occur will not „., ,i , i7„„, n.cc ,.• ^-.^ji-^^i .. 



. ', ,, ,-,. , , , ' , , , "" '"•- '^•^st Coast of Sumatra is estimated at ten thousand tons, 

 disastrously involve well-established houses, even though the ex- 

 port market is badlv denlo^.^li2ed ^"'^^ Anglo-Dutch Plantation Co. proposes to increase its capital 



by i2,S00,00O. 



THE DUTCH EAST INDIES j^^ g jj Hallaucr, appointed rubber chemist at the Middle 



An interesting letter, addressed to the International Association Java Experiment Station, took up his work in November last, 



of Rubber Planters, was recently published in a local paper the j^^^ ^j^j^j ^^p^^, p,.^^,^,^, ^,f ^^^ European estates in the 



theme of which is: Rubber planters unite to control prices, for if i,,,„p„„g ^■,,^,^^^^ -^ .^^ber. There are about 13 estates, of 



you don-t look out, the .American will get you. which two are not yet productive. The oldest plantations are 



After sketching the development of rubber culture from the ^j^^^t IQ years old. Of the 13 estates, two are English three 



start, when the Americans had not yet appeared upon the scene German, one Norwegian and the rest Dutch, 

 as planters, and showing how cost price and sale price approached 



each other until now they almost meet and sometimes even cross, "^^ ''i'" «'"' '^f ^^19 there were 117 rubber companies operating 



the writer looks around for the buyer and sees that the Americans "" "'"^ ^.ast Coast of Sumatra, of which there were : 



have the most to say. He draws attention to the fact that when Companies Nationality No. Estates 



Americans finally took up on a large scale planting in order ^? R"!'^!' ,-• i ■,■ 8.' 



, , , . , , , , ,, 25 Dutch East Indies 35 



eventually to make themselves independent ot other rubber pro- 37 English 69 



ducers. many laughed. But he considers that Americans should 1 French^" 2 



not be laughed at too soon. They should he seriously taken and ■* Belgian 5 



. , , , , 1 Cierman 3 



— watched closely. i Straits 1 



Ilis own observation showed him that in spite of the laughter \ HawaMan I 



Americans continued to plant and also have their own buying 5 Japanese ', , $ 



agents in the land of production. These agents buy futures, con- 



tinually make up import and export statistics for the main offices " ^ ' ^'^ 



in America, and the agents of different factories seldom buy at the Besides these, there were 19 tobacco companies with 31 estates 



same time, but if they do they buy at the same price without com- also planted to rubber. 



petition among themselves. The total area was over 140.000 hectares planted to rubber, of 



The writer is also of opinion that people concerned do not pay which half was productive. 



