February i, 190S.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



149 



Antwerp, Havre and Congo Rubber. 



IN their annual review of the Antwerp market for 1907, 

 Messrs. Grisar & Co., the official brokers, devote their at- 

 tention mainly to two points: (i) a caution against the 

 careless preparation of crude rubber, and (2) the progress of 

 rubber planting in the Congo region. First, however, may be 

 introduced a table of the arrivals of rubber at Antwerp during 

 the last ten calendar years: 

 Ye,\rs. Congo State. Otlicr Sources. Total. 



1896 Kilos 1,734,30s 280,286 2,104,591 



1899 2,992,414 410,416 3,402,880 



1900 4,902,003 796.032 5.698,035 



1901 5,417,456 431.742 5.849.202 



1902 4,992,954 41 1.031 5.403.985 



1903 5.180,401 546,082 5.726,483 



1904 4.723.618 1,040,238 5.765.856 



190S 4.442,607 1.271,121 5,713.728 



1906 4.593.759 1,178.303 5,772,062 



1907 4,346,141 708,332 5,054.473 



Messrs. Grisar & Co. say : 



"As the above figures show, the production of rubber in the 

 territories of the Congo Free State has remained essentially 

 the same as during the past few years. As pointed out in our 

 previous market reports, the maintenance of a normal and regu- 

 lar production is due to the measures promulgated by the gov- 

 ernment, for the purpose of preventing the exhaustive working 

 of the sources of rubber supply. The decrease in imports of 

 the various kinds of rubber is explained by the fact that the 

 greater part of the kinds produced in the French Congo are 

 at present being .shipped to the Havre market. 



"The qualit)- of the Congo rubber continues to be excellent 

 and highly appreciated by the consumers. However, we are 

 unfortunately unable to apply the same statement to the prepa- 

 ration of many lots which arrived here during the year in a 

 defective or pitchy condition. We could scarcely be too in- 

 sistent in our advice to exporters to devote their most careful 

 attention to this matter, and to cooperate for the purpose of 

 preventing the shipment of insufficiently dried goods, which 

 cannot possibly withstand the frequent handlings to which they 

 are subjected during transportation. 



"Among the various kinds of rubber, those produced on the 

 Asiatic plantations continue to meet with the greatest favor in 

 our market on the part of consumers. 



"We are pleased to again be able to report this year actual 

 progress made in the Congo in the important matter of plant- 

 ing. In connection with the crop of the year 1906, the planting 

 of 2,664,725 rubber trees and lianes has been reported. The 

 total amount of planting thus exacted both from government 

 employes and private parties covers at the present time about 

 15,000,000 plants, taking into account the inevitable waste which 

 is a necessary factor in enterprises of this kind. In addition 

 to the aforesaid plantations, the establishment of which is pro- 

 vided for by law, other fields for the production of sources of 

 rubber supply have been provided for the care of the govern- 

 ment and of commercial companies. As far as the government 

 is exclusively concerned, the planting done by the same may 

 be summed up as follows : 



End of 1905. End of 1906. 



Lianes (creepers') 8,575,000 10,150.000 



Manihot, Hevcii. Ficus, etc 157,000 188,000 



Funtumia elastica 753.O0O 1,187,000 



Total 9,485,000 11.525,00 



"The following system of planting has been adopted and made 

 incumbent on the interested parties, viz: Lianes at a distance 

 of 3 meters along the row's, instead of 1 meter, which was the 

 distance previously adopted. For the Funtumia, the minimum 

 distance was increased from 3 meters to 4 meters in every di- 

 rection. The plentiful results obtained up to the present time 

 make it safe to presume that henceforth the Funtumia elastica 



will be planted exclusively, since their growth and output ap- 

 pear to give the best results. 



"It will be well for all those concerned in this matter to- 

 take the foregoing considerations thoroughly to heart, inasmuch- 

 as they are based on practical experiments extending over a. 

 period of several years, lit is presumed that the reference here 

 to results obtained from planting Funtumia relates to experiences 

 elsewhere than in the Congo Free State, w-here the culture of 

 this species has been begun only of late. — The Editor.] 



"In addition to the aforesaid species, the government continues 

 to actively pursue the propagation of the Hevea Brasiliensis m 

 the territories where the soil and climate are favorable for its 

 growth. In order to increase the number of seeds derived from 

 full grown trees, which are more especially found at Boma^ 

 Coquilhatville, and New Antwerp, about 128.000 llevea seeds, 

 packed in moist layers have been shipped to the Congo Free 

 State during the year 1907 through the care of the Colonial 

 Gardens at Laekens, Belgium. The shipments made last year 

 under this system produced excellent results, 95 per cent, of 

 the seeds having arrived at Boma in good condition." [The re- 

 port here gives statistics of the production of plantation rubber 

 in Ceylon and the Federated Malay States.] 



"During the past year, the rubber market has been subject 

 to violent price fluctuations, caused more particularly by the 

 financial crisis than by the precarious condition of the rubber 

 industry. 



"After a firm start in January, prices were unfavorably in- 

 fluenced in March and thereafter by the abnormal arrivals at 

 Para, coincident with a tightness in the American money mar- 

 ket. After the markets had remained in an inactive condition 

 during the entire summer season, with stocks increasing every- 

 where, the decline in prices increased rapidly during the fall 

 months, and in November the intensity of the financial crisis 

 luade the bottom fall out of Para rubber quotations, which 

 finally declined from 5.f. H^- (in January) to z^. sVid. We 

 have to go back to the year 1902 to find equally low prices. This 

 condition of the market actually paralyzed business. 



"Towards the end of the year the market remained de- 

 moralized in consequence of the violent fluctuations of Pari 

 rubber, and w'e therefore terminate the year with an average de- 

 cline of about 28 per cent, against the quotations in December,. 

 1906, as shown by the following figures : 



CoMP.-\R.\TivE Antwerp Prices (Fr.xxxs per Kilo). 



Gr.\des. End Dec. '06. End Dec. '07. Decline. 



Kasai, red, 1 13.20-13.45 9.00-9.40 30.11% 



II kind 11.10-11.35 8.10-8.40 25.9970 



Kasai, black 12.90-13.20 9.00-9.40 28.78^0 



Equateur, Ikelemba, 



Lopori, etc I3-30-I3-50 9.00-9.40 30-37% 



Upper Congo, ordinary 11.80-12.05 8.50-8.80 26.97% 



Aruwimi Uel6 11.25-11.65 8.50-8.80 24.46% 



Mongala strips 11.25-11.65 8.50-8.80 24.46% 



Red thimbles ( root ruber). 6.25- 6.75 4-25-4-50 33-33% 



a Para fine 53.-55. 2d. 3s. 4d.-3s.6d. 32.25% 



\a In English money, per pound.] 



[Ten francs per kilogrpm^S?' j cents per pound.] 



THE HAVKE KASEET. 



A REVIEW of the rubber trade at Havre for 1907 has been 

 issued by Jean Roederer, broker, of that port, the text of which 

 is reproduced here : 



•Thanks to the impulse given the Havre market during the 

 past year in consequence of the decision taken by the principal 

 companies holding concessions in the French Congo to ship 

 their rubber in future to this market, the said market has be- 

 come of considerable importance not only for Congo grades, 

 but likewise for those originating from the other French colo- 

 nies, such as Madagascar, Tonkin, and the Soudan. 



