THE CUBA REVIEW 



29 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY 



CENTRIFUGAL SUGAR PRICES 



The prices at Havana for centrifugal sugar, 

 96-degree polarization, from December, 1912, 

 to and including April, 1914, is officiallj' 

 quoted by the Agrarian League of Havana 

 as follows: 



The prices are quoted in reales, per arroba 

 (25 pounds). 



Dec, 1912... 4. 68. 5 Sept., 1913... 4. 39 

 Jan., 1913... 3. 90. 9 Oct., 1913. ..3.86.3 

 Feb., 1913... 3. 80. 7 Nov., 1913.. .4. 15.7 

 Mar., 1913. .3.97.7 Dec, 1913. . .3.62.7 

 April, 1913 . . 3 . 69 . 7 Jan., 1914 ... 3 . 65 . 9 

 May, 1913.. .3.52.6 Feb., 1914. . .3.78.8 

 June, 1913. . . 3 . 57 . 7 Mar., 1914. . . 3 . 55 . 5 

 Julv, 1913... 3. 91. 2 April, 1914.. .3.53.5 

 Aug., 1913... 4. 40. 8 



A SUGAR EXPERT'S VIEWS. 



Sugar pi'ices in the United States and in 

 Europe was the subject treated, during the 

 taking of testimony in the United States 

 Govermnent's recent suit to dissolve the 

 American Sugar Refining Co., by Wallace 

 P. Willett, of "Willett & Gray's. 



Mr. Willett said that, as Germany is the 

 largest producer of beet sugar in the world 

 and has over 1,000,000 tons annually for 

 export above domestic requu'ements, Ham- 

 burg has become the ruling sugar market of 

 the world. Prices are fixed by the Hamburg 

 exchanges. 



These prices, however, Mr. Willett stated, 

 are not always natm-al but are subject to 

 various influences. Germany, he said, has 

 at times been able to lower the Hamburg 

 prices 26 cents a 100 pounds by a govei-nment 

 Isounty on export, maintaining the price to 

 domestic consumers but lowering it for export 

 business because it had such a surplus to get 

 rid of. Notwithstanding this lower pi'ice the 

 witness said that a profit of $26,000,000 had 

 been reaUzed in a certain fom* years' period. 



Speculation also influences prices. The 

 whole of Europe is honej-combed with sugar 

 exchanges. In one instance, iNIr. WiUett 

 testified, a syndicate of speculators combined 

 to raise prices over 50%, on the expectation 

 of a short Cuban crop, an advance which 

 fell off practically over night when the 

 s\Tidicate collapsed. Producers have an 

 abundance of financial backing, nevertheless, 

 because there is always a read}' market for 

 sugar. On the whole, the operation of the 

 exchanges is to elevate prices artificially, the 

 witness said. 



According to Mr. Willet, the fairness of 

 the European parity as a standard for 

 quotations, is questionable, becau.se it does 

 not repi'esent the natural level resulting from 

 the free play of the forces of supply and 

 demand. For the past three years or so, 

 however, prices have been regulated chiefly 

 by the size of the Cuban cane crop. 



SUGAR IN MANUFACTURING 



A very interesting article in the Xew York 

 Literary Digest describes the various uses to 

 which sugar can be put for manufacturing 

 purposes. First of aU ugar is a common 

 ingredient of many compounds for removing 

 and preventing boiling scale. The shoe 

 blacking industry uses sugar and molasses 

 to a considerable extent. In Europe there 

 seems to be a tendency to use blackings of 

 the older tyj33 which are made by the car- 

 bonizing action of sulphuric acid on sugar. 

 The product is neutrahzed and other in- 

 gredients added, such as powdered oil and 

 sometimes glycerine. 



Perhaps one of the most important in- 

 dustrial uses for sugar is in the manufacture 

 of soap. Sugar is used in this connexion in 

 the place of glycerine. In Germany there is 

 a considerable demand for sugar in the manu- 

 facture of explosives, though in the color and 

 dyeing industries, it is perhaps more wideh' 

 employed as a reducing agent and as a base. 

 Tanneries, too, use sugar in "filling" leather, 

 and to some extent in removing hme from 

 hides in the ''dehairing" process. It is in- 

 teresting to note, also, that ordinary copying 

 ink is made by the addition of one part of 

 sugar to three parts of wTiting ink. 



The silvering of glass mirrors provides 

 another use for sugar. After inversion with 

 acids, it is here used to reduce a solution of 

 silver nitrate which deposits a coating of 

 silver on the glass immersed in solution. 



The hardening and strengthening action of 

 sugar in mortar was known to the ancients. 

 In recent times, the IMuseum of Natural 

 History of Berlin has been rebuilt with 

 mortar consisting of one part of Ume, one 

 part of sand, and two parts of sugar. 



In many chemical operations sugar is used 

 as a som'ce of carbon of high puritA^, and in 

 the futm-e it is possible that sugar may be- 

 come of great industrial importance through 

 its nitro-compounds. Nitro-saccharose (suc- 

 rose octonitrate), is a product of gun cotton, 

 which it is said can replace the latter in its 

 numerous apphcations in exi^losives, coUodion 

 celluloid and the like. 



Beola & Co., at Gibara, wiU build a new 

 sugar mill outside Gibara on the railroad 

 with a capacity of 200,000 bags^plans now 

 being made and surveys held. 



RAILROAD NOTES 



The gauge of the Puerto Principe & 

 Nuevitas Raih-oad will be changed to stand- 

 ard immediately upon completion of the 

 sugar season. Plans have also been com- 

 pleted for the extension from Camaguej^ to 

 Santa Cruz del Sur which pronii.se a prompt 

 beginning of this work. 



