\RCH 1, 1920.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



389 



The London View of the 1919 Crude Rubber Market. 



D ^°"- f^'*'' 1^°^ ^p^ f^°y ^""'', ';'",''^ f^y?', ^'.''t'. P*:^', ^?'^: P^*- 



SUPPLY EQUALS DEMAND. 



THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURE of 1919 was the ciiormous sup- 

 ply and demand for crude rubber, especially since June. 

 The prospects are that both will be kept up through 1920 

 and the succeeding years. There is an increased call not for tires 

 alone but for all rubber articles as well. The total new supply 

 of rubber of all kinds for 1919 was about 334,000 tons, and the 

 .stocks of plantation rubber held in addition are large. The sup- 

 ply of Central America and other wild rubbers has been insignifi- 

 cant in comparison and the low grades are very hard to sell. 



THE MARKET. 



The knowledge of the large supplies of plantation rubber sent 

 prices down to a certain degree so that in June the price of stan- 

 dard crepe was Is. 8d. and of ribbed smoked sheets. Is. Id. There 

 were large sales, and 

 speculative buying helped 

 to keep the price up and 

 the year closed December 

 31 with quotations of 2s. 

 W/zd for both line crepe 

 and ribbed smoked 

 sheets. 



The large and steady 

 supply of eastern planta- 

 tion rubber naturally af- 

 fects the demand for all 

 grades of Brazilian rub- 

 ber. The price for hard 

 fine Para was 2s. 7yi,d. 

 at the beginning of the 

 year and 2s 7'Ad on De- 

 cember 31, though it rose 

 and fell slightly through- 

 out the year. 



The prices in the last 

 three years have been as 

 follows : 



Hard Para. 

 2s. yVid. 

 .. 2s. 7d. 

 . 2s. SVid. 



ACREAGE OF PLANTATION BUBBEE. 



The estimate of planted areas is extremely conservative, noth- 

 ing being added to the acreage for 1918. It is admitted that the 

 plantations in India and Burma have increased ; but the lands 

 where the Castilloa is depended upon, Mexico, the West Indies, 

 Central and South America have not progressed, and very slight 

 results have been obtained so far from the attempt to obtain Ccara 

 rubber from the Manihot trees in East Africa. The figures for 

 plantation rubber therefore stand : 



1917. 



Ceylon acres 290,000 



Malaya, Malacca 780,000 



Borneo 40,000 



Dutch East Indies 650,000 



India and Burma 50.000 



Former German Colonies 10,000 



Samoa, East and West Africa 



Totals 1,820,000 



London Spot Fluctu.xtions of 

 AND Ribbed Smoked 



Jelutong is 

 and 5s. Ad. 

 prices. 



worth \s. 2d. per pound; balata 4.?. Ad. for sheets 

 for block, while gutta percha realizes high 



The shipments of South 

 American rubber dimin- 

 ished during the year. 

 While the rubber from 

 Brazil, Bolivia and Peru 

 was equal in quantity to 

 that supplied in 1918, the 

 amount of caucho was 

 consideiably less. The 

 quantities of Ceara and 

 Manigoba were very 

 small; Bolivia and Matto 

 Grosso, Pernambuco and 

 Assare, sent much less; 

 Mollendo and Venezuela 

 none. The Central Ameri- 

 can rubber was of slight 

 importance. Mexico sent 

 almost nothing, Columbia, 

 Ecuador and Nicaragua 

 very little. 

 The imports of medium Para have fallen off; for certain 

 grades there has been a fair demand, but soft, weak rubbers 

 have been hard to sell. The following table shows the annual 

 receipts and shipments at Para during the past three fiscal years: 



July 1 to June 30. 





Fine Hard ParA. F 

 Sheet During 1919. 



Crkpe 



PLANTATION RUBBER. 



PEEPARATION AND PACKING. 



The quality of the rubber, for the most part, was very satis- 

 factory and creditable to the managers of the plantations. Some 

 rubber cured by the Byrne process was much liked. There was 

 some criticism of the packing. The close press packing w'hich 

 makes a case hold a heavier weight of rubber is not pleasing to 

 the European market and is said to lead to deterioration of the 

 rubber. Bales are also objected to. The packing should be 

 carefully done, with the rubber laid as flat as possible, especially 

 sheets, which should not be folded and not be packed too tight. 

 This holds particularly for the lower grades. The cases should 

 be strong and planed ; ISO pounds is a useful size. 



The rubber estates in the Far East are more than satisfied 

 with the year's results. "The power of the British Empire 

 and its vast resources were never more manifest and convincing." 

 The Rubber Growers' Association and the Rubber Trade Asso- 

 ciation helped the trade greatly during the year. 



1917. 



tons 29.759 



9,591 



14,320 



Shipments to the United States 25,950 



1919. 

 27,385 



6,800 

 11,308 

 27,250 



AFRICAN RUBBER. 



The quantity of African rubber on the market has fallen off 

 decidedly. Good qualities of the West Coast varieties — Niger, 

 Gold Coast, Accra, Cameroons and Conakry— have sold well, 

 but imports of lump have fallen off. The French Congo and 

 Soudan rubbers, mostly from Senegal via Bordeaux and Havre, 

 sold well. There was a fair supply from the Belgian Congo, 

 but it was hard to sell, except a few good qualities. From the 

 East Coast there was little rubber; very little from the Man- 

 ihot plantations of British and German East .A.frica, hardly any 

 from Abyssinia, none from Nyassaland, little from Madagascar 

 and scarcely any red rubber from Zanzibar. 

 EAST INDIAN RUBBER. 



The lesser Asiatic districts, Rangoon, Assam and Penang, sent 

 small quantities to England ; Borneo, very little wild rubber but 

 more Ilcvca. The supply of jelutong was small. That of balata 

 was less than in previous years though the demand was strong. 



