12 REPORT OF SCHIMMEL & Co. APRIL 1914. 
981 millions in 1912, and that “unfriendly” Germany has now reached a point when. it. 
buys exactly ten times as much from France as does friendly and allied Russia‘), 
As will be seen from the statistics published on p. 9, the German exports of 
essential oils and synthetic perfumes to England have also shown a considerable 
increase in the course of last year, and of this our London branch house may claim 
an important share. Notwithstanding the persistence of many obstacles connected 
with home-politics, the conditions of sale in almost all branches of industry have 
been extremely favourable. Owing to the opportunities of expansion which are open 
to it in the Colonies, the economic life of England is so healthy and so strong that 
very different causes than those described above would be needed to obstruct the 
onward course of the industry and commerce of this country. The apparent necessity 
in which certain German firms found themselves during the opening months of the 
new year of improving their embarrassed financial position by the sale of large parcels 
of commodities, has again shown up in its true colours the price-cutting which is rife 
in our industry. England is a favourite ground for such “transactions of necessity” 
because the conditions of payment obtained in the country make it possible to turn 
merchandise into cash there more quickly than anywhere else. Several transactions 
of this kind have come to our knowledge in which the buyers concerned suffered 
disappointment in the end, because the question of quality gave rise to discussions 
which will probably result in the sellers selecting a fresh field for their faanietal 
operations in the future. 
The annual report for 1913 of the Liverpool firm of Bigland, Sons and Jeffreys”), 
dealing with several staple articles of commerce, has the following reference to the 
British soap trade, and to certain subjects related thereto: — 
“British exports of soap further advanced in the year 1913 as compared with the 
year 1912, as they had done in the year 1912 compared with 1911. But the increase 
from 1911 to 1912 (from 82443 tons to 87602 tons), was larger than that from 1912 
to 1913 (87602 tons to 89334 tons). This is due to the conditions of the year 1913 
(Balkan war, fears of a great European war, high rate of interest, restriction of enter- — 
prise), which unfavourably affected even Great Britain. In sympathy therewith, too, 
the imports of soap, which had risen in 1910 to 1911 from 17017 tons to 19127 tons, 
and in 1911 to 1912 from 19127 tons to 24338 tons, fell in the year 1913 to 22144 tons. 
This decrease chiefly affects soap stock, of which the imports showed a decline of 
from 4282 tons to 2450 tons, whereas the imports of soap powder, washing soap and 
toilet soap actually showed increases. In the export department, the figures for soap 
powder fell from 1524 tons in the year 1912 to 1245 tons in the year 1913, while at 
the same time the exports of washing soap rose from 79259 tons to 81251 tons and 
those of toilet soap from 4120 tons to 4260 tons. 
In the year 1913 the imports of the hitherto customary raw materials for soap- 
making, such as tallow, palm oil and cocoa-nut oil showed a drop of more than 
6000 tons. But it must not be concluded from this that the production of British 
soaps decreased in that year, because the new hardening process has also given to 
certain other fatty substances, such as whale oil and linseed, which formerly were 
scarcely of any account, a great importance for the soap industry. This process is 
all the more important for the British soap industry because through the establishment 
of numerous soap factories in countries which formerly supplied basic materials (South 
Africa, Australia, Argentina, Japan, &c.), these materials are now employed locally 
1) Deutsche Export-Revue 1914, No. 12. — 7) Handelsmuseum 29, No. 12. 
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