CORK OAK——-RYAN AND COOKE 
It is only on these types of lands that 
the cork oak is to be grown. Under 
such circumstances it is felt that cork 
will compare favorably with competi- 
tive crops. 
In order to give the potential planter 
an idea of what to expect in the way 
of a return on his investment, an analy- 
sis of the present-day market prices of 
Mediterranean cork was made and the 
result is presented as an average value, 
subject, of course, to reasonable com- 
mercial deviations. The average value 
will serve as a basis of comparison in 
determining the feasibility of growing 
cork as a crop. 
The total Mediterranean production 
is comprised, on the average, of 35 
percent of corkwood, or bark, and 65 
percent of waste, strippings, shavings, 
and refuse. Both the corkwood and 
the waste are supplied in many differ- 
ent grades. There are about 32 
different grades of corkwood covering 
the virgin, second, third, and after 
strippings. Grading is based upon 
thickness and quality. The waste, 
etc., derived from cutting, trimming, 
and processing the above grades of 
corkwood is classified into some 12 
different grades. 
The present price of corkwood, 
f. o. b. the Mediterranean region port 
of shipment, ranges between $84.59 
per short ton for the virgin growth and 
$519.25 for the highest-quality, thick- 
est, and finest-textured grade. The 
composite price of all grades, based 
upon proportionate production, is 
$134.42 per short ton. The derived 
waste runs from $38.18 for the lowest 
grade of refuse to $92.73 for the high- 
est grade of selected strippings. The 
composite price of the waste cork is 
$77.05 per short ton. Therefore, on 
the basis of 35 percent cork wood and 
65 percent waste, the present com- 
posite price of Mediterranean cork 
would be $97.13 per short ton. 
The American manufacturer must 
add to the above unit prices approxi- 
mately $38.19 to cover the cost of 
buyer’s fees, ocean freight, insurance, 
and land freight on this side. Cork 
817369—49—— 29 
375 
that is grown in the United States will 
also have its transportation charges, 
which will vary with respect to forest 
location in relation to the point of ulti- 
mate consumption. The bulk of cork 
in this country. is consumed on, the 
Atlantic seaboard, and, since it will 
be grown from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific coast, freight charges ranging 
from $5 to about $40 per short ton 
must be+taken ‘into consideration. 
Based upon the proportionate planting 
of each State in the positive potential 
area, the composite cost of freight and 
transportation will be $22.59 per ton. 
This represents an average saving of 
$15.60 per ton over the Mediterranean 
freight cost which must be passed on 
to the user as his incentive to buy 
American-grown cork. Therefore, the 
American planter can, at all times, 
sell his cork at the prevailing Mediter- 
ranean region prices. 
With $97.13 per ton as the current 
composite price of all grades of cork, 
the annual income per acre for the 
22-year forest of table 10 would be at 
the rate shown in table 12. 
TaBLe 12.—Rate of annual income for the 22- 
year forest with the composite price of cork at 
$97.73 per ton 
Annual Annual 
At end of | dollar At end of dollar 
year income year income 
per acre per acre 
NO 2 eeerecc 0 Il QOeccsccsc 8. 98 
PAO eee eee 503 Il WOssccooos 12. 33 
BORA ee 510 Ml BOs sccoccs 17. 54 
AQM rose 55 )9) ||| Oe se weds 25. 62 
5 Rae aA ane Cyevie Il MOO sscace 38. 20 
At the end of 100 years, the average 
income for the entire period will have 
been at the rate of $11.43 per acre per 
annum. It is interesting to compare 
this rate with that of the Mediter- 
ranean region which has been produc- 
ing for hundreds of year. Table 1 
shows the annual cork yield for the 
Mediterranean region to be 112 
pounds (0.056 ton) per acre. With 
