203 



A good yield of oil is about 50 per cent., and this has been 

 obtained from African (Rufisque), 5248, Congo, 52*88, Egyptian, 52'3, 

 Bombay, 50*47 and Japanese ground-nuts, 54*5 (see Handy, Farmers' 

 Bull. No. 25, 1896, p. 5, and Burkill, Kew Bull. 1901, p. 178). A 

 theory has been advanced but not proven that the more tropical the 

 climate the greater will be the percentage of oil. 



A sample of ground-nut oil from N. Nigeria examined at the 

 Imperial Institute (1906) was found to compare very favourably with 

 commercial oil in its composition, but on account of a peculiar odour 

 and taste it was considered only suitable for soap-making (Bull. Imp. 

 Inst. 1908, p. 356). 



West Africa is perhaps the most important source of the supply 

 of ground nuts, and they are shipped chiefly from the Gambia. 

 In 1903, 92,784 tons of undecorticated ground nuts from the West 

 Coast of Africa, and 86,291 tons of decorticated nuts from India, 

 were imported into Marseilles (Cons. Rep. Ann. No. 3230, 1904, 

 p. 7). 



The following figures for 1909 indicate the importance of the trade 

 (Gambia Govt. Gaz.) : — 



Quantity. Value. Export Duties. 



Tons ... 53,674 £323,231 £17,881 



The figures for Nigeria, 1909, being (S. Nigeria, Govt. Gaz. Jan. 

 11th and 26th, 1910) :— 



Tons ... 4,208 £29,389 — 



The price of ground nuts in Liverpool is about £10 to £19 per ton : 

 some prices ruling recently being : — 



Rufisque £16 10s. to £19 



Bathurst (undecorticated) ... £13 10s. to £17 



Niger (undecorticated) £10 10s. to £14 10s. 



Niger (decorticated) £11 5s. to £17 5s. 



Congo „ £17. 



Dakar £15 10s. to £17 10s. 



(selected from returns made by Messrs. Taylor & Co., Liverpool, 

 between Nov. 1907, and June, 1910). 



The cost of West African ground-nuts in shell delivered on the 

 quay at Marseilles (1909), ranged from 22 fr. 50 c. to 31 fr. per 100 

 kilos (Cons. Rep. Ann. No. 4516, 1910, p. 17). 



In Nigeria it would appear from the export returns that the greater 

 part of the nuts grown there are used up locally. 



In the country markets they are sold at, from Id. to l\d. a pound 

 (McLeod, S. Nigeria Govt. Gaz. April 1st, 1908, Suppl. p. 1). An 

 attempt to export undecorticated nuts from Iwo (Western Province), 

 was not successful ; the nuts were bought at the rate of £5 10s. to 

 £7 per ton, but they were stated to be of bad quality, many of them 

 decayed and mouldy, and there was great loss of weight in transit 

 owing to the damp condition when bought. The merchants at Iwo 

 have since offered £2 to £3 10s. for undecorticated, and £7 per ton 

 for decorticated nuts (I.e.). 



At Dakar (1909) the price quoted for Rufisque nuts was 2(» fr. 

 per 100 kilos (about 2s. per imperial bushel), and the Gambia crop 

 (Dec. 1909) was offering at Is. Gd. to Is. 9d per bushel. The higher 

 price is for nuts at all river ports, and the lower for those bought 

 in the interior (Dudgeon, Gambia Govt. Gaz. March 5th, 1910, p. 111). 



