THE CUBA REVIEW 35 



in Cuba, we reply yes, provided there is volume production great enough to reduce 

 unit cost of production. Then it is only necessary to find a large consuming market. 

 (From the Louisiana Planter, New Orleans, May 27, 1922.j 



Sugar Review 



specially written for The Cuba Review by Willett & Gray, New York, N. Y. 



Our last report dated July 31, 1922, closed with the following opinion: "that a 

 period of quietness for the next two or three weeks will be the best for the general good 

 and any undue attempt on the part of speculators to force prices unduly will only result 

 unfavorably." We hoped that buyers would have been influenced by this unbiased 

 opinion as to the condition of the market but contrarily holders of Cuban sugars were 

 not satisfied with quotations at 3^c. cost and freight but made an effort to push 

 prices higher than the situation warranted. During the early part of the month of 

 August, an attempt was made to push prices up to 3%c. cost and freight; but this 

 did not succeed, as we expected, and the market continued to be barely maintained 

 for a short time at 3^c. cost and freight. The only transactions that took place 

 above this quotation were some August shipments taken by the National at 3 13/ 16c. 

 and some sales at 3%c. cost and freight with outport option. 



The market from that time on became much easier and frequent declines were 

 established. Among the conditions that had the incentive to cause this decline was the 

 announcement that the United States Senate had voted to increase the duty of Cuban 

 sugars from 1.60c. per pound to 1.82c. and which increase has been met generally with 

 disfavor throughout the United States, except of course by the beet sugar producers 

 and even some of them were not actually in favor of such a high rate of duty, although 

 publicly they could not state such a fact. 



Furthermore, European beet crop conditions, which were progressing very slowly 

 under unfavorable weather conditions, showed a decided improvement and a cable was 

 received by us indicating that the next European beet crop would outturn 4,400,000 

 tons, excluding Russia, and if this figure is obtained, it will show 500,000 tons increase 

 over the previous crop. 



In the meantime, the refined situation had become somewhat overbought and as 

 the demand for refined slackened, the demand for raws correspondingly lessened. Toward 

 the end of August it became necessary for holders of options on the Sugar Exchange 

 covering Cuba for September delivery to either sell out their option or else accept 

 Cuban sugars in store, against their purchases. Of course, the greater part of these 

 speculators did not desire to accept the actual sugar and a flood of seUing orders 

 appeared on the Exchange, causing a very sharp decline which brought September 

 options down as low as 3.1Sc. and allowed the selling of Cuban sugars in warehouse 

 contingent on Exchange transactions as low as the equivalent of 3 3/16c. cost and 

 freight. Naturally after such a severe decline a reaction took place and the market 

 advanced materially and at the latter part of August Cubas were selling from store 

 and for shipment at 3^c. cost and freight. 



Refined. — Because of the general weakness in raw sugars an adjustment in the 

 prices of refined sugar was necessary and while at the first part of August refined quo- 

 tations were 6.90c. to 7.00c., all refiners in the United States are now quoting 6.75c. 

 except on the Pacific Coast where refiners quote 7.15c. During the period of sharp 

 decline, there was considerable reselling of granulated sugar by buyers who had over- 

 bought and sales of granulated sugar during this period were made quite low, say from 

 6.25c. to 6.40c. The same thing can be said about sugar for export, with actual trans- 

 actions of sugar suitable for this delivery as low as 4.00c. The present nominal valuation 

 of second hand export granulated is 4.60c. to 4.70c. while refiners maintain 5.00r. 



New York, N. Y., Sept. 6, 1922. 



