September 1, 1919.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



725 



qualities at $1 Straits ($0.5644 gold) per pound ex warehouse 

 Singapore; or, as an alternative, for the Government to fix the 

 price at $0.80 Straits ($0.45 gold), and to appoint a rubber con- 

 troller to place orders. The Dutch Government was alleged to 

 be favorable to this plan. The commission estimated that the 

 world consumption of plantation rubber during 1919 would be 

 117,000 tons. 



In order to control raw materials the Netherlands Govern- 

 ment prohibited the export of rubber from the Dutch East Indies 

 except by permit. 



JAPANESE RITBBEE PLANTATIONS IN THE MALAY PENINSULA. 



The area of Japanese rubber plantations in the Malay Penin- 

 sula, located chiefly in the State of Johore, and held by 125 

 men, is estimated at 93,803 acres, of which 51,166 acres are 

 already planted and yield 344,000 pounds, or about 154 tons 

 monthly. 



Rubber manufacture in Japan is making gradual progress. 

 Imports of crude rubber into Japan amounted in 1917 to 3,748 

 tons, costing $4,565,113, as compared with 2,961 tons, costing 

 $3,623,005 in 1916— an increase of 27 per cent. Japan during 1918 

 is said to be importing double the amount of rubber imported 

 during 1917. 



THE RUBBER SITUATION IN BRAZIL. 



Sumatra plantations include 20,000 acres. A very limited area 

 is also planted to rubber in Mindanao, Philippines. 



A fraction of over 66 per cent of all rubber plantations are 

 situated in British colonies, so that Great Britain exercises both 

 political and financial control over the supply of this important 

 raw material. Of the total acreage under British control 807,491 

 acres are in the Federated Malay States and Johore, 159,500 

 acres in the Straits Settlements, 251,500 in Ceylon, 41,820 in 

 South India, 29,880 in British Borneo, 26,390 in British Burmah 

 and 5,000 in the South Sea Islands. 



Under the Dutch flag there are 352,455 acres in Sumatra, 238,- 

 830 acres in Java and 10,100 acres in Dutch Borneo, giving the 

 Netherlands political control over 49 per cent of the total world 

 acreage in rubber plantations. France controls 10,000 acres in 

 Cochin China, and the share of all other countries amounts to 

 62,577 acres. An almost unlimited area of desirable land for 

 rubber plantations is as yet available for development in 

 Sumatra and Borneo, but such is not the case with the Malay 

 Peninsula, Ceylon and Java. __ 



SINGAPORE REPLACING LONDON AS THE WORLD'S RUBBER CENTER. 



Before the war plantation rubber was shipped direct from 

 Singapore, Colombo, and other ports in the Far East to London, 

 where it was sold at auction. London had always been the 

 world's greatest rubber market. But the submarine menace, to- 

 gether with high ocean freight and war-risk rates and lack of 



tonnage, placed London at a disadvantage, so that the Singapore ^. j^.i^lligent examination of the Brazilian rubber trade 



market and the Far East has become, temporanlv at least, the /\ . . „ • ., j a -i tj imo 



world's rubber market. The Singapore rubber auctions are grow- t\ appears m Wileman s Brazilian Review for April 23, 1919. 



ing more and more important and buying of crude rubber is A few figures serve as a text: 



largely centered there. In addition to representatives of all large ipuen s R 



American manufacturers, all large American and London dealers ' .j.'^^^,. Value 



now have buyers at Singapore. Sales in the Singapore auctions 1913 36,232 £10,375,000 



have grown from 552 tons in the year of their origin (1912) to 1917 33,998 7,484,000 



24,316 tons in 1917. Practically all plantation rubber is now im- "18 22,662 3,998,000 



ported into the United States via the Pacific direct from the j„ jgjg j^e exportation was one-third less than the year before, 



Far East, m Japanese tonnage. , u-i ..u uu u u^ ■ 11,.. 1. ir i. 



Although the London market seems without particular in- "'^ile the rubber brought in was only about one-half as much, 

 fluence on conditions here, from a broad point of view, we should The quantity is not exact, because 6,000 tons more were pro- 

 not discount consideration of London as a factor in the rubber duced, but were retained by the Brazilian banks and not ex- 

 market; for the majority of rubber plantations are British- p^^j^j j^^ ^^itg^. j^inks it fairer and more scientific to com- 

 owned, and in nearly every case nave their central ottices in Lon- ,, ,- e , a ■ , , a ,■ 

 don, and from that" city "the directors are controlling the sales. P^""" '^e figures for the 4 war years with the 4 years preceding. 

 It is not unlikely that after shipping, financial, and other con- For those periods the decrease in tons was 35,810, or 18.6 per 

 ditions resume normal state London may again become a greater cent, while that in value was £52.018,000, or 61.1 per cent. "These 

 factor in the rubber market. figures show the tenacity with which the Brazilian rubber in- 

 RUBBER LANDS RESTRICTIONS REMOVED. dustry has in the face of tremendous depreciation and difficulties 



The rubber lands restriction enactment of 1917, an ordinance ^f ^ ^j^j maintained a brave front," and has put ofif "the 



of the Government of the Federated Malay States, was intended , . . , , , t- ■■ r 1 -u ,, 



to discourage American and other alien interests taking up land complete extinction and transfer to the East of the wild rubber 



at a time when British interests were involved in abnormal con- industry. "So long as hard, fine rubber enjoys a premium over 



ditions and at a disadvantage, and provided for discontinuance every other kind" that prediction will not come true. Yet hard 



of land grants of more than 50 acres in extent to aliens An f;„g ^.jjich rose to 12s. 9d. a pound in 1910 in the London market, 



amendment was passed by the Federated Malay States Legislative , ^ , „,,, , , , ■ ■ r a -i ir>,,^ 



Council late in 1917, however, placing British subjects on a par s^"^ to Is. S/^d. at the beginning of April, 1919. 



with aliens so far as their position with regard to acquiring rub- In 1900 Brazil's rival in rubber production was Africa; the 



her lands is concerned. Eastern plantations producing only 4 tons ; the figures being 26,- 



All British plantation companies, in addition to excess-profits 750 tons for Brazil and 27,136 for' Africa, the only year save one 

 tax, were required to pav export duty of 2Ja per cent ad valorem , ... i, j t ir,io ^i t- . 1 .• 

 on output of estates when the price of cultivated rubber does not '''l^*^" '^f"" was ahead. In 1918 the Eastern plantations pro- 

 exceed 2s. 6d. per pound, f. o. b. east (which is equivalent to 60 duced 200,950 tons, Brazil 30,700, and the rest of the world, 

 cents gold), and otherwise 5 per cent. The established price is chiefly Africa, 9,929 tons. 



based on standard first latex crepe. Alien producing companies in Percentage 



British territory, including .\merican, were likewise subjected to of Increase 



the payment of export duty. Product.on:- ^^^^__^^^.^^_ ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^ "^^-^Inr' 



MINIMUM PRICES AND RESTRICTED PRODUCTION IN THE FAR EAST. 1900 4 26,750 27.136 53,890 



.£, ^, . . . . . • ,■ • J J 1901 5 30.300 24.545 54 850 + 1.7 



After the .A.merican import restrictions were imposed, and 1902 8 28.700 23,632 52,340 —4.5 



with immense stocks accumulating in primary markets, there de- 1903 21 31.100 24.829 55,950 -|- 6.8 



^xloped among far east plantation intere.st-s, particularly their "^y- — —/■■,■ ■■, ,\i f.^ ^S tl'? t"o4 



financial interests in London, considerable agitation for govern- 1906 510 36.000 29.700 66.210 + 6^5 



ment regulation and protection of producers by establishig mini- 1907 l.ooo 38^000 3o!ooo 69^000 +4^2 



mum prices and restricting output. \'^^l \f>l 39,000 24,600 65 400 -5.2 



T- .* . A , inm /^ 1 1 . I 1-^- i 1909 3.600 42.000 24,000 69,600 4-64 



Early in August, 1918, Ceylon adopted 123 pounds per acre as 1910 8.200 40.800 21,500 7o!50O + !.:■ 



maximum production. With prices near the cost of production 1911 14,419 37,730 23.000 75.149 + 6.5 



and the situation acute, an investigating commission was ap- \l\\ fy^l lYf l\fif, 98.928 +31.6 



pointed in Singapore by plantation interests, to formulate definite \9\^'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 7i',380 37',000 12,000 120.380 +iro 



plans and recommendations to submit to the local colonial gov- 1915 ! 1071867 37!220 13!615 I58,'702 +3L8 



ernment and the home British Government, for fixing prices and l^V' VAmi \%-\%l \\\\\ ??V'^ol -\VA 



restricting production. In the meantime temporary measures of w^\\V^\\\\V^\V^V^ foo'sSO 30.700 9;929 241579 —\o 



relief were provided by the colonial government's suspending ex- I919 ^estimate) 230,000 33!o00 lO^OOO 273,000 +13^4 



IT ^^Z,^""^ ^^' '^"^ ^"'^ ^""""^ temporary loans to rubber ,909:l9uTb'ef7re war). 102,355 202,310 117,952 422,617 .... 



cultivators. ... . . .... Relative production 24.2% 47.9% 27.9% 100.0% 



Later the investigating commission appointed by the plantation 1914-1918 (during war). 745,917 180.790 61,250 987.957 



interests recommended a total restriction of SO pounds per acre Rela'iv e production 75.5% 18.2% 6.3% 100.0% 



per quarter and the formation of an Imperial trust to buy prime 1 inclusive of Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. 



