THE MALAY PENINSULA 225 



The average cost per pound f.o.b. Malay Peninsula in 

 1911-12 was 17*30 pence. The cost from port of ship- 

 ment to London or Liverpool was 2*52 pence in 1913, 

 and allowance must also be made for London and 

 other headquarter office expenses, directors' fees, per- 

 centage of preliminary expenses incurred in the forma- 

 tion of companies, income-tax, and other items. In 

 the circumstances it is safe to conclude that the total 

 average cost of every pound of rubber sold in London 

 during 1913 was not less than 20 pence sterling. 



That the cost of production in the immediate future 

 will be substantially reduced may be regarded as 

 assured. In the next three or four years the average cost 

 f.o.b. in Malaya should not exceed i shilling per pound. 

 A saving of i farthing per pound can be effected by 

 shipping in Java mat bales in place of boxes, thus 

 reducing cost of freight and packing. Taking these 

 facts into consideration, the average cost per pound up 

 to time of sale should not exceed 13*25 pence plus the 

 London office charges for directors' fees, etc. 



In calculating future production, the most satisfactory 

 method is to take the area under cultivation in 1912, 

 650,000 acres, and allow for it a yield based on the 

 average returns already given. In 1919 the trees com- 

 prised in this acreage will be of an average age of from 

 ten to eleven years. The average yield from 7,438 acres 

 situated in different sections of Malaya, from trees of 

 seven years upwards, was shown to be 50 1 pounds of 

 rubber per acre. Taking the average yield of ten-year- 

 old trees at 4 hundredweights per acre, the total yield 

 in 1919 would be 130,000 tons. Young trees planted 

 after 1912 will add considerably to the output, but it is 

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