32 THECUBAREVIEW 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY 



Machinery and apparatus 6,526,030 2,769,904 



United States 3,705,975 2,183,430 



United Kingdom 921,385 200,375 



Belgium 1,068,301 157,172 



Germany 592,720 165,910 



Netherlands 17,728 50,585 



France 216,802 9,127 



In connection with the sugar industry it is interesting to note the nationality of the owners 



of the various sugar estates and mills in the Republic. Of the 170 operating estates in the 



island 67 are owned liy Cubans, 43 by Americans, 42 by Spaniards, and 18 by nationals of other 



countries. — Consul Hviinj M. Walcott. 



ECONOMIC POSITION OF SUGAR IN THE UNITED STATES 



More than one-fifth of the 40 Ijillion pounds of sugar that represent the world's production 

 last year was consumed in the United States. The consumption of sugar in the United States,^ 

 exclusive of its sugar-producing islands, during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1915, has Ijeen 

 calculated by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce 

 as 8,630 million pounds, or 86 pounds per capita. 



Of the sugar consumed in this country in 1914-15, 1,941 million pounds were produced 

 on the mainland, 1,281 million pounds in Hawaii, 589 million pounds in Porto Rico, 327 million 

 l^ounds in the Philippines, and the remainder in foreign countries. Cuba, the leading .source 

 of our imported sugar, sent us 4,785 million pounds in the last fiscal year, that quantity t)eing 

 nearly four times as much as that from Hawaii and eight times as much as that from Porto 

 Rico. 



Beet sugar now leads cane sugar by nearly 1 billion pounds in the yearly domestic product, 

 having reversed the conditions which obtained 20 years ago. In 1895, for example, according 

 to the Statistical Abstract of the United States, the domestic sugar product totaled approxi- 

 mately 775 million pounds, the share of beet sugar being only 45 million pounds. In 1915, 

 our sugar product had increased to 1,941 million pounds, the share of beet having grown to 

 1,448 million and that of cane having decreased to 493 million ]50unds. Meantime, beet 

 sugar has practically disappeared from om- imports. Eighteen years ago, when the Cuban 

 supply of cane sugar was cut off by war, we imported nearly 2 billion pounds of beet sugar. 

 After the return of peace in Cuba oiu- imports of beet sugar fell off sharply, and in the last 

 fiscal year, beet sugar imports amounted to less than 1 million pounds. 



The cutting off of the sugar supply of Em-opean countries has resulted in a remarkable 



expansion of oiu- sales of sugar to foreign countries. For the fiscal year 1915 they aggregated 



582 million pounds, as against 223^2 million pounds in 1900 and 40 H million pounds in 1880. 



The following table presents the leading changes in the economic position of sugar in 



1914-15, as compared with the preceding year: 1913-14 1914-15 



Pounds. Pouruh. 



World's sugar product 42,053,000,000 40,424,000,000 



United States cane-.sugar product 601,000,000 493,000,000 



United States beet-sugar product 1,467,000,000 1,448,000.000 



United States imports : 



Cuban 4,927,000,000 4,785,000,000 



Hawaiian 1,115,000,000 1,281,000,000 



Porto Rican 641,000,000 589,000,000 



Philippine 117,000,000 327,000.000 



All others 18,000,000 309,000,000 



United States exports sugar 72,000,000 582,000,000 



United States consiunption of sugar 8,794,000,000 8,630,000.000 



• — ■Fro)n Commerce Reports. 



