282 DATE SUGAR INDUSTRY IN BENGAL. 



that roiigMy '17- per cent, of India's sugar is produced from palms, 

 %tl ?t;he" author .tjiinks that 10 per cent, would be a nearer 

 estimate. 



The amount of sugar produced annually throughout the world 

 from various sources, is according to August von Wachtel 1 



From cane 9 00i>,000 tons. 



From beet 8,000,000 tons 



From sugar palm (P. sylvestris) 150,000 tons. 



From maple 500,000 tons. 



The author assumes that these figures relate to refined sugar. 



A careful enquiry 2 by the Government of India in 1889 shewed 

 that 168,262 acres were under palms connected with sugar supply. 

 If we take two and a third tons of gur, a safe figure, as the yield of 

 sugar per acre we should get a total yield approaching that of 

 Mr. Noel-Pa ton's estimate. 



Palm-gur and its products are largely consumed in the dis- 

 tricts in which they are produced and it is very difficult to get an 

 idea of the amount of gur exported to other districts or of the 

 amount which is refined to high grade sugars. 



According to Aubert 3 the palm-sugar producing districts of 

 Upper Burma export annually about 36,500 tons of sugar, pre- 

 sumably as gur. 



The Indian Agriculturist 4 in 1900 stated that the annual 

 value of palm jaggery bought by a single Madras firm for refining 

 was more than 15 lakhs. At Rs. 4 per maund this would be roughly 

 16,000 tons. 



In the Imperial Gazetteer 5 we find it stated that in Jessore dis- 

 trict alone there were in 1900-1 117 native sugar refineries with 

 an outturn of 235,000 maunds valued at 15' 15 lakhs. This is 

 6,500 tons and would require 16,250 tons of gur for its production. 

 Most of this sugar refined in Jessore goes to Calcutta and is largely 

 used for the preparation of native sweetmeats. 



1 Jour. Ind. & Eng. Chemistry, May 1911, Development of the Sugar Industry. 



2 Resolution, dated 20th March 1889. 



8 Agric. Jour, of India, Octr., 1911, page 375. 

 * Vol. XXV, 1900, page 116. 

 6 Vol. XIV, page 96. 



