THE CUBA REVIEW 



The Sugar Industry 



Insurance for Sugar Crops 



It has been announced by one of the 

 leading insurance companies that it is pre- 

 pared to write insurance against damage to 

 cane crops by freezing, which is a new and 

 important development that should aid 

 materially toward imparting greater sta- 

 bility in the sugar industry of Louisiana 

 and other sections where the possibility of 

 serious damage by frost is an ever present 

 danger during an important part of the har- 

 vesting season. Crop insurance is not new, 

 but this particular application of it is so 

 far as our knowledge extends, and it pro- 

 vides for the first time a means by which 

 the Louisiana planter can relieve himself 

 of the constant anxiety arising from every 

 approach of low temperatures. Heretofore 

 his only recourse to avoid the possible de- 

 struction of his crop by a threatened freeze 

 has been to cut his cane and hold it in 

 windrows, a proceeding that inevitably in- 

 volves a heavy loss in sugar. Now he can 

 offset the cost of insurance against the 

 larger recovery of sugar in case he escapes 

 a freeze and can sleep much more comfort- 

 ably of nights during the grinding season. 



The monetary value of a sugar crop is 

 high enough to make it a particularly apt 

 product for insurance. While not all sugar 

 growing countries require this form of pro- 

 tection against frost, there are other 

 enemies of the crop from which protection 

 can be purchased in the same way, and 

 the possibilities of crop insurance applied 

 to this particular industry have only begun 

 to be understood. 



The insurance of cane crops in Cuba 

 against destruction by fire has grown to a 

 business of considerable extent in recent 

 years. Sugar beet growers in the western 

 states are coming to find hail insurance as 

 useful to them as it is to farmers growing 

 other crops. Systems of insurance against 

 drouth and against the ravages of insect 

 pests and diseases can be worked out, and 

 in the course of a few years the sugar pro- 

 ducer may be able to protect himself as 

 fully against ordinary hazards as can those 

 in other commercial operations. 



Louisiana Report 



Sugar cane fell off 6 points in condition 

 during August and on September 1 had a 

 condition figure of 9.8 per cent below the 

 ten-year average, according to the monthly 

 report, covering the sugar cane crop, by 

 Lionel L. James, agricultural statistician. 

 United States Department of Agriculture. 



The condition of sugar cane, according 

 to the average of the reports of a large 

 number of well-informed cane growers in 

 all parts of the Louisiana cane belt, bearing 

 an average date of September 1. is 71 per 

 cent of a normal, which compares with a 

 condition of 77 per cent August 1, 1923. 

 The condition on September 1 was lower 

 than for any previous corresponding period 

 since 1911, except on September 1, 1919, 

 when it was 56 per cent. 



A condition of 71 per cent on September 

 1 forecasts a probable production of ap- 

 proximately 3,410,2 72 short tons of sugar 

 cane on the acreage to be used for sugar 

 this year and a yield for the State of ap- 

 proximately 241,191 short tons of sugar. 

 In 1922, 295,095 short tons of sugar were 

 produced. The average annual production 

 for the last nine years is 235.361 short tons. 



The final outturn will probably be larger 

 or smaller than 241,191 short tons, depend- 

 ing upon conditions hereafter whether bet- 

 ter or worse than average conditions. — 

 Siimr. 



Egyptian 1922-23 Crop 



It is reported the 1922-23 sugar crop of 

 Egypt amounts to 96,000 long tons. 

 Almost the entire crop was produced by a 

 single company, which operates raw sugar 

 factories at Sheikh Fadl, Abu Qorqas, Nag 

 Hamadi, Arment and Kom Ombo. and also 

 owns a refinery at Hamadieh capable of 

 refining the entire Egyptian output of raws 

 and, in addition, a considerable quantity of 

 imported raws. 



