96 SUGAR 



and 90,000 tons in 1909-10. Since then, as may be 

 seen in Appendix I, the production has increased to 

 130,000 tons in 1917, and is still increasing. The 

 factories, mostly American, are modern, but not up 

 to date. The great trouble is political unrest. 



Mexico is doing well and putting up some first-class 

 factories. They get long prices in their own markets, 

 thanks to an excessive Customs barrier, and do not yet 

 make much of a surplus for export. Here, again, 

 political unrest is the great trouble. The production 

 increased rapidly from 75,000 tons in 1900 to 160,000 

 tons in 1911. Since then, internal quarrels have 

 reduced the sugar production to 50,000 tons. With 

 peace at home, sugar production will flourish and 

 increase rapidly. 



Peru, Brazil and the Argentine are producers on a 

 fairly large scale, but parts of Brazil are sadly behind 

 the times. They can get very good prices at home 

 when they make no surplus, but when they are obliged 

 to export they find it difficult to keep up home prices. 

 They tried to form a combination for that purpose but 

 it broke down. The country could produce a very large 

 crop if it were not that capital and labour are wanting. 

 There are, however, several modern factories in Brazil, 

 trying to reform the industry. 



Peru has a great future if all goes well. Irrigation, 

 combined with good soil and climate, and canes which 

 produce rich pure juice, only require up-to-date fac- 

 tories to enable Peru to compete with Java and Hawaii 

 in the amount of sugar produced per acre. The rich 

 land between the mountains and the sea, coupled with 

 the valleys and streams which run from the hills to 

 the coast, give a perfect arrangement for universal 

 irrigation. The climate is almost rainless, so there is 

 no variety of season, and sugar can be produced and 



