OILS 



Trade 



OILS, OIL-SEEDS AND PEKFUMERY 



Oocoanut Oil 

 Coastwise. 



D.E.P., 

 v., 463-77. 

 Oil-cake. 



Exports. 



Manure. 



Calcutta and 

 Madras. 



Oil-mills. 



Progression. 



and by castor (147,898 cwt.). Of the traffic in mustard and rape the most 

 significant feature may be said to be the large exports to Eastern Bengal 

 and Assam and to Bengal proper from Calcutta. This is the direct mani- 

 festation of the oil-mills within the city, which in the year in question drew 

 2,353,389 cwt. of mustard and rape seed chiefly from the United Provinces 

 to be used up in the manufacture of oil. The most significant feature of 

 the coastwise transactions is the very large trade done in cocoanut 

 oil. The total traffic coastwise in 1904-5 came to 8,730,737 gallons, 

 valued at Rs. 1,25,84,419 (838,961). Of that amount fully half was cocoa- 

 nut exported from Madras into Bombay and Bengal (each taking approxi- 

 mately 2 million gallons), and Burma 770,000 gallons. So in 1905-6, the 

 total traffic was 10,008,074 gallons, valued at Rs. 1,53,73,114, the exports 

 of cocoanut being 4,612,490 gallons, valued at Rs. 70,62,430. 



OIL-CAKE (Poonac). Incidental reference has been made to the 

 objection to exporting oil-seed, instead of expressing the oil in this country 

 and retaining the cake. But it may be contended that the present traffic 

 is perhaps not quite so unsatisfactory as it might at first sight be supposed. 

 In the present state of Indian agriculture oil-cake is less in demand than 

 in Europe, and accordingly it may be more profitable to export the seed 

 than were the oil expressed and dependence placed on the Indian markets 

 for the disposal of the cake. As against that contention it may be urged 

 that the surplus cake might be exported as a regular commercial article. 

 India is at present, in fact, doing a fairly large trade in exporting oil-cake. 

 In 1877-8 these exports were valued at Rs. 4,30,399 ; in 1901-2 at Rs. 

 29,84,230 ; in 1902-3, Rs. 34,22,616 ; in 1903-4, Rs. 39,18,460 ; in 1904-5, 

 Rs. 43,08,621 ; in 1905-6, Rs. 51,99,194 ; and in 1906-7, Rs. 35,89,740. 

 In. 1905-6 a new item, consisting of oil-cake for manure, valued at Rs. 

 16^99,186, appeared, and in 1906-7 this became Rs. 40,09,381. [Of. Mollison, 

 Agri. Ledg., 1899, No. 12.] 



The present traffic in oil-cake is comparatively unimportant. The 

 total amount carried by the railways came to 1,864,415 cwt. in 1904-5; 

 2,182,405 cwt. in 1905-6; and 2,008,579 cwt. in 1906-7. Calcutta and 

 Madras (the seats of the oil industry of India) are necessarily most concerned 

 in the exports. Calcutta supplied 810,158 cwt., and Madras 637,946 cwt. 

 The Calcutta supply went chiefly to the province of Bengal, and the 

 Madras to its own port towns. The exports coastwise were in 1904-5 

 returned at 220,000 cwt. and in 1905-6, 112,005 cwt., the bulk being 

 consigned from Madras to Bombay. 



Oil-mills. The fact that India exports so large a quantity of oil- 

 seeds and again imports a considerable amount of vegetable oils, has often 

 been commented on as one of the directions of future reform. The loss 

 to India through this circumstance may be said to be twofold : (a) the 

 loss of lucrative employment ; (b) the loss of oil-cake that should more 

 largely than at present be retained in India. Still it cannot be said that 

 no progress has been made by India. In 1895 there were 163 oil-mills 

 that gave employment to 3,368 persons, and in 1900 these had expanded 

 to 212 mills and 5,084 employees. Recently the data of official returns 

 have been changed : only mills that employ 25 or more persons are re- 

 corded. This has had the result of making a serious reduction in the 

 number of oil-mills supposed to be at work. In 1903 there were by the 

 new system 109 mills, 11 being worked by steam, with the total 

 number of persons employed 4,985; and in 1904, 112 mills and 5,200 



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