— 41 — 



Dealing with the individual essences, we had left Bergamot oil 

 at a level of about 26 to 27 marks. These prices were at that time 

 considered very high, and nobody would have dreamt that in the 

 summer months prices advancing rapidly up to about 40 marks would 

 have to be reckoned with. These extraordinary high prices, which 

 had not been known for an age, must be attributed in the first place 

 to a less favourable harvest, and secondly to a demand from abroad 

 which was out of proportion to the limited stocks. Although at the 

 moment only very small stocks of old oil are available, which probably 

 do not exceed 5000 kilos and have to meet a three months' demand, 

 the prices have declined somewhat during the last few weeks, owing 

 to the fact that the owners had aimed too high, and had driven up 

 their prices beyond all reason, so that the consumers preferred to 

 retire from the contest and make -shift as long as possible with the 

 stocks held abroad. To-day's price is about 37 marks cif. Trieste, 

 but the most modest demand would probably suffice to rouse the 

 owners again to action, and to induce them to ask higher prices. 



The prospects of the new harvest unfortunately again cannot be 

 called favourable. The cold of last winter has caused much injury 

 to many of the trees planted in higher altitudes, so much so that 

 they will scarcely yield any fruit at all this year. Along the coast, 

 in the Southern extremity of Italy, the trees are rich in fruit, but to 

 the North of Reggio, only a bare medium harvest can be looked for. 

 Taking all in all, the opinion is that the new crop will turn out 

 about one third smaller than that of last year; the general knowledge 

 of this fact is reflected in the high prices asked by the manufacturers 

 for new oil, and in the reserve of many manufacturers to sell even 

 at those high prices. 



The price asked for new oil moves at this moment about the 

 level of 32 marks, but buyers abroad hesitate to conclude purchases 

 at such high quotations. If the oil-content of this year's fruit should 

 be found to be very high, the prices might possibly decline slightly; 

 but if, as last year, the fruit should have a smaller oil-content, it is 

 possible that the above-mentioned price will be maintained, and will 

 become the ruling quotation. 



Lemon Oil. In my Spring Report I gave expression to the view 

 that this oil, which at that time stood at 12.50 marks, would go still 

 higher if purchases continued to be made from abroad, and if foreign 

 buyers could not at least for some time manage to do with the 

 quantities of new oil already delivered up to that time. This, unfortun- 

 ately, has not been the case; on the contrary, since that time many 

 orders from local export firms have been placed to cover earlier 

 forward sales at cheap prices, and moreover new important orders 

 have been sent from abroad direct, at prices which were gradually 



