COCOA-GROWING COUNTRIES 479 



Kilog. Kilog. 



1906 . . . 176,000 I 1910 . . . 184,000 



1907 . . 278,000 1911 . . . 343,000 



1908 . . . 340,000 1912 . . . 400,000 



1909 . 235,000 ! 



Colombia 



In Colombia cocoa culture is on a moderate scale ; 

 but it is of no importance from a commercial point 

 of view, as almost all the cocoa is consumed locally 

 and very little is exported. 



It has been estimated that about 12,000,000 Ibs. 

 are used for home consumption, the number of inhabit- 

 ants being 4,000,000, and the consumption per head 

 3 Ibs. 1 



As an example how popular cocoa is, it may be 

 mentioned that the servants are paid not only in wages 

 but also in a fixed ration of cocoa per day. 



In several districts cocoa is cultivated, for the 

 greater part in small fields not larger than a few acres. 

 These are to be found over the whole country, especially 

 along the Magdalena River, above Honda ; in the whole 

 Cauca Valley, in the Simi Valley, and in the neighbour- 

 hood of Santa Marta, where the bananas are the main 

 culture. 



The produce is mostly made into chocolate by the 

 inhabitants themselves, not in large factories. A few 

 factories exist in Carthagena and Bogota. 



The produce of the Cauca Valley is well known also 

 on the European market, though only small lots arrive 

 here now and then. The great drawback, however, of 

 this part of Colombia is its situation so far away from 

 the port (Buenaventura), and the cost of transport to 

 the port is so high that it hinders the extension of the 

 cocoa culture in the Cauca Valley. 



Along the Atlantic coast conditions are better ; 

 especially near Rio Frio an extension of the cocoa culture 

 may be expected. 



1 Juraelle, Le Cacaoyer, p. 144. 



