THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[August 1, 1920. 



Trinidad. (Incidentally, we have nothing quite like the Trini- 

 dad Agricultural Society in the colony.) This discussion 

 elicited the fact that the" Department of Agriculture in Trinidad 

 has not abandoned its experiments with rubber, as we believe is 

 the case in this colony. The Director of Agriculture gave some 

 particulars of tapping experiments that are of great moment be- 

 cause ihey go far to meet the principal difficulty in this colony, 

 namely the labor shortage. Hcvca trees are supposed to require 

 tapping every other day. Mr. Freeman resolved to try a series 

 of experiments, tapping every two days, and every six. The 

 results were more than gratifying. The trees tapped three times 

 a week yielded 22j/^ pounds a tree in ^Vz years, those twice a 

 week 19.3 pounds and those once a week 9.2 pounds. Thus, by 

 tapping three times in two weeks instead of six times they get 

 a yield only of 3 pounds less per tree in 4% years. The im- 

 portance of this experiment upon the labor difficulty is ob- 

 vious. Trinidad is fortunate in having a rubber enthusiast. 

 E. A. Robinson grows rubber, not to lest theories as the De- 

 partment of Agriculture does, or because it amuses him, but as 

 a commercial proposition. In 1919 Mr. Robinson organized 

 labor to tap 1.600 trees and produced 28,000 pounds and he 

 got roughly 400 pounds to the acre, whereas in the East the 

 average is as follows : southern Java 218 pounds ; Straits Set- 

 tlements 247 pounds ; Ceylon 312 pounds ; Java 322 pounds ; 

 Sumatra 326 pounds ; and in one district of the Federated Malay 

 Stales 382 pounds. In the East, rubber is clean-weeded, forked 

 and manured ; in Trinidad Mr. Robinson does nothing but drain 

 his land. For labor he uses boys and girls, also adults of both 

 sexes, and pays them 40 and SO cents a day. As they can do 

 a day's task of 200 trees by 11 o'clock they can make much more 

 money with extra work. Mr. Robinson is an exception. It is 

 not believed that rubber can be grown profitably in Trinidad 

 any more than it is believed that it can be grown profitably in 

 this colony. Nevertheless he is planning to produce 70,000 

 pounds of rubber this year. We should not be surprised if the 

 foundation of another big industry is lieing laid in Trinidad. 



MALAYAN CRUDE RUBBER INDUSTRY IN 1919. 



By Consul General, Edwin N. Gunsaulus, 

 Singapore, Straits Settlements. 



THE ANNUAL REPORT of the Planters' Association of Malaya for 

 the year 1919, presented at a meeting of the Association held 

 a few days ago, contains much interesting information relative to 

 the rubber industry during the period under review. Some of 

 the more salient points of this report are given below : 



The year 1919 commenced with heavy stocks in this country, 

 and in many directions fears were expressed as to the ability 

 of the manufacturers to absorb them. Crop restrictions were 

 relaxed during the first part of the year and the shortage in 

 shipping did much to augment this. A 'great deal of speculation 

 resulted on the signing of the armistice and temporarily afifected 

 prices in Singapore, but the removal of the American import 

 restrictions brought a more steadying influence to bear on the 

 position, and in the ensuing months of the year matters adjusted 

 themselves more nearly to a resumption of the natural law of 

 supply and demand. 



The output of rubber in Malaya during 1919 and the previous 

 three years was as follows : 



Provinces. 1916. 1917. 1918. 1919. in 1919 



over 1918. 



Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Per cent. 



Selangor 26,163 32,614 31,417 39,570 26 



Perak 23,421 30,129 30,219 41,580 37 



rohore 14,004 19,089 22,816 27,890 22 



MalaccT 12,388 16,075 16,693 22,414 34 



Negri SembiLin 12,179 15,526 15,154 22,846 50 



Penang. Province Wellesley 



and Dindings 4,935 5,596 5,762 8,089 40 



Sedah 3,314 5,266 5,276 6,472 22 



Singapore 628 2,471 2,600 3,200 23 



Pahang 1,001 1,562 1,494 2,457 64 



Kelantan 1,010 1,490 1,745 2,077 19 



Trengganu 20 105 188 244 29 



Total 99,063 129,923 133,364 176,839 32 



RUBBER PRODUCTION. 



During the past 11 years the total production has been as 

 follows : 



Years. Tons. 



1919 176,839 



1918 133,364 



1917 129,923 



1916 99,063 



1915 70,214 



1914 47,006 



1913 33,641 



1912 20.327 



1911 10,782 



1910 6,504 



1909 3,340 



FOREIGN COMMERCE IN RUBBER— WORLD PRODUCTION. 



The export figures for 1919 are interesting when compared 

 with the production for the year, as they show some 22,918 tons 

 more were shipped than the total of the Malayan crop, while at 

 the end of 1918 only 6,312 tons are given as having remained un- 

 shipped. 



The Board of Trade returns for 1919 give the total imports of 

 rubber to the United Kingdom at 101,891 tons, of which amount 

 58,132 tons were supplied by the Federated Malay States and 

 Straits Settlements. On December 31 stocks of plantation 

 grades at London and Liverpool amounted to 23,236 tons. In 

 ten months ending October, 1919, the United States took 124,339 

 Ions of rubber from the British Indies, an increase of 30,904 tons 

 over the amount supplied during the corresponding period in 

 1918. 



According to Rickinson's "World Rubber Position," the world's 

 production of plantation rubber in 1919 was estimated at 285,225 

 tons, Brazilian and wild rubbers at 41,635 tons, and the amount 

 afloat on December 31, 1919, at 47,340 tons, making a total of 

 374,200 tons. Of this amount 55,000 tons were produced in 1918. 



SHARE OF CONSUMING COUNTRIES— TREMENDOUS INCREASE IN 

 DEMAND FOR RUBBER. 



The consuming countries in their order of importance were : 



Per Cent. 



America 65 



United Kingdom 13 



France 6.5 



Italy, etc 4 



Canada 3 



Taoan and Australia 3.5 



liussia 0.5 



Be?^um''\'!'. .'.'.[['.'.llll'l'.'.'l^'.'.'.''.'''.''''.'.'.'.'.'. i.5 



Germany, etc 1 



It is pointed out that during the past 10 years the consumption 

 of rubber in the United States has shown an average increase of 

 27J4 per cent per annum. Should the spread of motor traction 

 result in an annual increase in the world's consumption equal 

 to 25 per cent, it would be necessary by 1924 to harvest fronT 

 the plantations a crop of no less than 766 pounds per acre in 

 order to meet the demand. It, therefore, follows as a safe 

 conclusion that we are approaching a time when the supplies of 

 raw material will not be large enough to meet the demand. 



Most of the rubber produced is for the manufacture of tires, 

 and if this demand is maintained during the next few years there 

 will not be enough rubber available, as only the present planted 

 area of 2,910,750 acres will be tappable during the next five years. 



The Socirtc Anonyme des Plantations de Telok-Dalam of 

 -Antwerp, Belgium, in its tenth annual report for 1919, announces 

 profits of 1,691,460.74 francs. The company owns 4,405 acres of 

 land in Asahan, Sumatra, of which 2,405 acres are under cultiva- 

 tion. This yielded, in 1919. 909,540 pounds of rubber instead of 

 the anticipated 720,310 pounds ; the average price obtained for 

 it was 6.35 francs a kilo, while in 1918 the price obtained was 

 3.87 francs. The number of trees per acre when the company 

 started was 105 ; this has been cut down to 74 and this year 5 

 trees an acre more will be removed. In 1918 the yield was 

 5.178 pounds per tree and 384.8 pounds per acre; last year it 

 was 5.83 pounds per tree and 393 05 pounds per acre. The 

 president of the company is E. Bunge and among the directors 

 are A. and E. Grisar. 



