28 BULLETIN 473, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



the treatment of cane did not occur until 1879. The territory suit- 

 able for the growing of sugar cane is located in the northern part of 

 the Eepublic, chiefly in the Province of Tucuman. The area under 

 cultivation for all crops increased from 32,000,000 acres in 1905 to 

 50,000,000 acres in 1911, of which slightly less than one-half of 1 per 

 cent Avas used for cane. The area under cane increased from 151,400 

 acres in 1895 to 162,461 in 1905 and to 177.813 in 1912. Approxi- 

 mately 80 per cent of the area used for cane is located in Tucuman. 

 It is the principal crop in that Province and covers about 50 per 

 cent of the area under cultivation. In 1901-2, 54 per cent of the area 

 under cultivation in Tucuman was used for cane, which decreased to 

 45 per cent in 1904-5 and increased to 66 per cent in 1910-11. In 

 1912-13 this Province contained 72 per cent of the sugar mills and 

 produced 84 per cent of the cane and 83 per cent of the sugar. The 

 principal harvest season is from June 1 to October 31. 



Data showing production of cane are not available, but 2,338,594 

 tons were used for sugar in 1912-13 and 3,043,389 in 1913-14. The 

 yield per acre is estimated at from 10 to 20 tons. The sugar ex- 

 traction was 6.9 per cent of the weight of the cane in 1912-13, as 

 against 8.8 per cent in 1913-14. The production of sugar increased 

 from 157,513 tons in 1903-4 to 304,389 tons in 1913-14. The average 

 annual production for the decade ending with 1912-13 was 154,396 

 tons, compared with 120,798 tons for the decade ending with 1902-3. 

 The number of sugar factories decreased from 51 in 1895-96 to 42 in 

 1913-14. In 1912-13, 39 mills were in operation and produced 162,313 

 tons of sugar, or an average of 4,162 tons per factory. The* next 

 year 38 mills produced 304,389 tons, or an average of 8,010 tons per 

 factory. The yield of sugar per ton of cane was 139 pounds in 

 1912-13 and 176 pounds in 1913-14. 



The domestic supply of sugar in Argentina since 1895 has been 

 approximately equal to the demand. Prior to that date the imports 

 of sugar nearly equaled the production. During the period 3 896 

 to 1904 a surplus of sugar was produced. The exports for that 

 period amounted to approximately one-fourth of the production and 

 were consigned chiefly to the United Kingdom. For 1905 and subse- 

 quently the exports have been practically nil, while the imports have 

 increased. 



The sugar imported came chiefly from France, Austria-Hungary, 

 and Germany. The Federal Government has encouraged the indus- 

 try by paying a bounty on all sugar exported, but has also levied an 

 excise tax on one-fourth of the domestic sugar consumed at home. 

 A maximum price has been fixed by law which is equal to the import 

 duty; when the price of domestic sugar exceeds the price fixed by 

 law, sugar is imported to equalize prices. The imports of sugar 

 were 218 tons in 1903, which increased to 83,289 tons in 1913, but 



