THE CONSUMPTION OF CACAO 185 



The Board of Trade Returns for 19 19 are as follow : 



Cacao Beans Imported into United Kingdom. 

 From 



British West Africa, 

 British West Indies 



Ecuador 



Brazil 



Ceylon 



Other Countries 



Total 



72,886 tons 



13,219 tons 



9,153 tons 



3,665 tons 



903 tons 



13,820 tons 



113,646 tons 



Home Consumption 64,613 tons 



It will be noted that the import of British cacao is 

 over 75 per cent, of the total. 



Before the war about half the cacao imported into 

 the United Kingdom was grown in British possessions. 

 During the war more and more British cacao was im- 

 ported, and now that a preferential duty of seven 

 shillings per hundredweight has been given to British 

 Colonial growths we shall probably see a still higher 

 percentage of British cacao consumed in the United 

 Kingdom. 



Value of Cacao Beans Imported into the United Kingdom (to 



Nearest 1,000). 



From British Possessions. 



Year. 



^^ 

 1914 



^5 

 1916 



1917 

 1918 

 1919 



Total value of Cacao 

 Beans Imported. 

 2,199,000 

 2,439,000 

 5,747,000 

 6,498,000 

 3,498,000 

 3,040,000 

 9,207,000 



Value. 

 1,158,000 

 1,204,000 

 3,546,000 

 4,417,000 

 3,010,000 

 2,549,000 

 6,639,000 



Per cent. 



Si"! 



49" 4 

 6i - 7 

 68-o 

 86-o 

 83-8 

 72-1 



That the consumption of cacao is expected to grow 

 greater yet in the immediate future is reflected in the 

 prices of raw cacao, which, as soon as they were no 

 longer fixed by the Government, rose rapidly, thus 

 Accra cacao rose from 65s. per hundredweight to over 

 90s. per hundredweight in a few weeks, and now 

 (January, 1920) stands at 104s. (See diagram p. 113). 



