30 THE CUBA R E \- I E W 



SUGAR REVIEW 



Specially Written for The Cuba Review by Willett & Gray, of New York 



Our last review for this magazine was dated February 10, 1911. 



At that date centrifugals were quoted at 3.48c. per pound. To-daj-'s valuation is ;!.86c. 

 per pound, showing an advance for the period of .38c. per pound, a somewhat remarkable 

 advance for the season of the year, and brought about entirely by the inauguration of a 

 strong speculative movement on the sugar exchanges of Europe, prompted thereto by 

 repeated pessimistic crop advices cabled over from Cuba and the United States. 



Th's European movement raised quotations for beet sugars even higher from 9s. 3%d., 

 equal to 3.95c., for centrifugals at New York on January 11th, to 10s. 8%d., equal to 4.25c., 

 per pound for centrifugals at New York now, say an advance equal to .30c. per pound. 



The parity difference between beet sugars and centrifugals at New York is now .39c. 

 per pound, and there is little likelihood of any reaction from present prices for Cuba 

 centrifugals, so long as the parity difference remains above Mc. per pound. 



There is more or less surprise occasioned by this unusual upward manipulation of 

 sugar prices in Europe in the face of one million or more beet sugars excess, without in- 

 cluding Russia, and many persons here look for a collapse of this movement sooner or 

 later, but probably it will not come until the operators who have the market well in hand 

 in Europe, have raised quotations considerabh' higher. The European markets are the 

 key to the whole situation apparently and must be watched with interest. As this number 

 of The Cuba Review is the usual annual resume of the sugar situation as it relates to 

 Cuba, we w411 mention especially those matters of interest which apply to the island 

 particularly. 



In this connection we may repeat that the total consumption of sugar in the United 

 States in 1910 was 3,350,355 tons against 3,257,660 tons in 1909, of which Cuba contributed 

 1,640,182 tons in 1910 against 1,427,531 tons in 1909. Taking the average increase con- 

 sumption per annum at 4.413 per cent, the consumption for 1911 should reach 3,500,000 

 tons. It is evident from the returns thus far received from the Cuba crop that Cuba 

 cannot supply to the United States this season 1,600,000 tons, and hence at the lowest 

 estimate 200,000 tons more sugars must come from other sources to meet the consumption 

 of the United States this year. This means that Cuba can maintain for the balance of its 

 crop prices just as near to the parity level of beet sugar and Java sugars delivered in New 

 York as the Cuban planters are able to demand for the same. Naturally, in this connec- 

 tion, financial facilities and storage facilities and deterioration of sugar itself must be 

 taken into consideration. 



Last season Cuba shipped some 125,000 tons of its crop to Europe. No amount of 

 moment is likely to go thence this year, although the way is open for exports to the 

 United Kingdom by the recent action of the Cuban Congress in reducing Cuban duties on 

 sugar within the limits of the Brussels Convention. This action was taken on a very 

 narrow margin of days for consideration in the Congress. The able Cuban representative at 

 the Brussels committee meeting, where it was proposed to place a countervailing duty 

 against Cuban sugars, succeeded in having this action postponed until the first of April, 

 1911, and communicated this reservation to President Gomez, who immediately took 

 measures to bring Cuban sugar duties within the necessary limit. Just exactlj^ what these 

 limits are will not be known until the law goes into force from the date of its publication 

 in the official Cuban Gazette, a copy of which has not reached us. It is sufficient to say, 

 however, that, under the new law, Cuban sugars can be exported freely to the United 

 Kjngdom whenever that country is in need of the sugar and will pay more for them than 

 the United States will pay. This condition wall not exist during the present campaign, 

 and all that Cuba produces, whether more or less, will be wanted b}' the refiners of the 

 United States, with possibly the following qualifying explanation : 



It must not be taken for granted, however, that Cuba has a free course as to prices up 

 to the level of the European beet sugar market, because there is the Java sugar crop, 

 estimated at 100,000 tons in excess of last year, to be considered. Java is a country of 

 sugar production at extremely low cost, as low, if not lower, than Cuba itself, but, of 

 course, subject to 20 per cent higher duties in the United States than Cuba sugars have 

 to pay. This drawback, however, has never yet prevented Java from disposing of a con- 

 siderable amount of its crop in the United States, and already our refiners are commencing 

 to talk Java sugars and to be interested in the prices at which these can be landed here 



