The Supremacy of Climate and Soil 



Cuba holds a stategic position in the world's sugar industry because its 

 natural and other advantages have combined to make it the most important 

 low cost producer. In the production of sugar the cost of cane or beets is 

 the most important single item of total costs. While it is difficult, if not 

 impossible, to secure up-to-date representative itemized costs for the sugar 

 industry in various producing regions, the following tabulation based on pre- 

 war experience, gives a clear idea of the relative importance of various items 

 of costs and the position of Cuba: 



Average Pre-War Costs Per Ton 

 of Beet and Cane Sugar Produced in Various Regions 



Cost of Cane Factory 



or Beets Costs 



Domestic Beet $50.17 $23.17 



Cuba 20.20 7.89 



Hawaii 35.68 5.85 



Louisiana 66.91 20.44 



Porto Rico . 41.02 10.00 



Marketing 

 Costs 



$7.52 

 5.24 



13.84 

 2.81 

 4.27 



Depreci- 

 ation 



$5.10 

 1.42 

 2.78 

 3.08 

 2.73 



Total 

 Costs 



$85.96 

 34.75 

 58.15 

 93.24 

 58.02 



The table indicates that the cost of domestic beets per ton of sugar produced 

 is nearly two and one-half times the cost of cane in Cuba, while Louisiana cane 

 costs are slightly more than three times, Porto Rico two times and Hawaii 

 about one and three-fourths times those of Cuba. Costs today have risen 

 in all areas as compared with pre-war experience but Cuba undoubtedly 

 still retains its relative advantage. 



Cost and Freight Prices 

 96 Cuba Centrifugals 



Cuba's Why Cuba holds an impregnable 



Impregnable position in the sugar industry is 

 also clearly shown by the per pound 

 costs of Cuban and competing sugars which have 

 been compiled at various times by official in- 

 vestigators. Perhaps the most thorough inves- 

 tigations which have been made in recent years 

 regarding sugar costs are those of the United 

 States Tariff Commission made for purposes 

 of aiding Congress in framing tariff legislation. 

 As not all sugar producers turn out refined 

 sugar, the Commission found it necessary to reduce 

 all costs to a raw sugar basis, for fair comparison. 



31 



YEAR 

 1909 

 1910 

 1911 

 1912 

 1913 

 1914 

 1915 

 1916 

 1917 

 1918 

 1919 

 1920 

 1921 



Jan. 

 Feb. 



March 

 April 

 May 

 June 

 July 

 Aug. 



.Sept. 



AVERAGE PRICE PER LB. 



2.646C 

 "2.828,!! 

 ^" 3.090i 

 2.8040 



2.1500 

 ^2.7450 



3.6261 

 4.7670 

 5.2080 

 5.0140 

 6.3540 



3.4590 



'11.3370 



