THECUBAREVIEW 33 



SUGAR REVIEW 



specially written for THE CUBA REVIEW by U'illctt & Gray, New York. 



At the time of our last report, which was dated April 28, the raw sugar market 

 here was quoted at IS % c cost and freight. This quotation was followed bj^ successive 

 advances until the high point of 22.50c c. & f. was reached, which quotation was 

 maintained until the past few days, when a much weaker tone prevailed with rapid 

 decline to 21c c. & f. The cause of the decline is dvie to the fact that our sugar 

 market has reached such a high level that it has induced offerings of sugars from 

 all quarters of the globe and in addition to our regular supplies of Cubas, Porto Ricos, 

 Hawaiians, etc., we are offered sugars from Mauritius, Natal, India, Formosa, Japan, 

 Java whites, sugars from Central and South America and various other places. There 

 are, however, fewer Javas offering recently owing to the heavy business done a short 

 time ago both for the United States and the United Kingdom. 



The most interesting feature of the period under review has been the further 

 reduction by Messrs. Guma-Mejer in their estimate of the Cuban crop to 3,650,000 

 tons. Their reduction was shortly afterwards followed by one of Mr. Himely ta 

 3,700,000 tons. We, however, are inclined to expect a final crop outturn somewhat 

 higher than either of these figures. All authorities agree that despite the heavy 

 demand for sugar this season the stock on plantations of Cuba is larger than ever 

 before, caused by the fact that railroads in Cuba have been slow in transporting 

 sugars from the plantations to the ports on account of the lack of rolling stock. 

 The visible production to May 22d is 2,952,648 tons, against 2,940,472 tons last year 

 and 2,596,704 tons in 1917-18. 



There has been considerable talk of purchases by Canada and American interests 

 of Cuban sugars from the crop of 1920-21 and it has been stated that some 50,000 

 tons of this sugar for January-March, 1921, shipment have been purchased at around 

 15c f. 0. b. Cuba. 



Since we last wrote you we have published our estimates of the sowings and 

 possible yield of sugar in Europe during the 1920-21 beet campaign. Basing our cal- 

 culations on favorable weather and political conditions, we are inclined to look for 

 an outturn of sugar of 3,820,000 tons against 2,818,444 tons, our latest indications 

 for the 1919-20 crop. This estimate is divided as under: 



1920-21 1919-20 



Tons Tons 



Germany 1,300,000 750,000 



Czecho-Slovakia, Hungary and Austria 800,000 600,000 



France 250,000 154,444 



Belgium 175,000 125,000 



Holland 300,000 240,000 



Russia 350,000 350,000 



Sweden 160,000 150,000 



Denmark 105,000 160,000 



Italy 170.000 150,000 



Spain 130,000 120,000 



Switzerland 5,000 4,000 



Bulgaria 15,000 15,000 



3,820,000 2,818,444 

 We have received during the past week a cable from our former correspondent 

 in Germany, the well known statistician, F. O. Licht, in which he states that he 

 estimates the sowings in Germany this year will be 5 per cent, larger than last and 

 that the expected outturn will be 1,165,000 tons. It is more than likely that this esti- 

 mate is a very conservative figure as in our opinion it would not be good policy 

 for Germany to estimate the crop too high on account of the possible effect on the 

 favorable world prices now prevailing for sugar. Under such conditions we are in- 



