THE NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES 243 



This sum of 137,500 guilders is equal to 11,458 

 sterling. With an average crop of 250 pounds of 

 rubber to an acre containing 108 trees, the cost per 

 pound f .o.b. Sumatra works out at n pence sterling. It 

 is understood that the amount allocated to hospital and 

 medical attendance is for a share in a central hospital 

 in combination with two or three other estates. If a 

 separate hospital is maintained this charge would be 

 doubled. 



The yield per acre should show a steady increase as 

 the trees grow older, and the cost of collection, curing, 

 weeding, management, and maintenance of roads and 

 drains, will be proportionately reduced per pound of 

 rubber. 



In addition to the expenditure already set out, the 

 charges from Sumatra to date of sale in Europe come to 

 i '60 pence per pound with rubber selling at 2 shillings per 

 pound. Therefore the total cost up to date of sale would 

 be 12*60 pence sterling, leaving a net profit of 11*40 

 pence per pound of rubber. A well-cared-for plantation 

 planted with 108 trees to the acre will certainly yield 

 250 pounds per acre between six and seven years of 

 age. Under these conditions, a crop of 250,000 pounds 

 from 1,000 acres will leave a clear profit of 11,875 

 sterling with the average price of rubber at 24 pence 

 per pound. A fall in the value would automatically 

 reduce the European charges for commissions. 



This lower cost of production in Sumatra as com- 

 pared to Malay is accounted for by (i) the smaller 

 value of the monetary unit, and (2) the absence of any 

 export duty or direct taxation on the industry. 



