THE SUPPLEMENT TO THE 



Tropical Agriculturist and Magazine of the 0. A. 8. 



Compiled and Edited by A. M. & J. FERGUSON. 



No. 5.] MAY, 1912. [Vol. X. 



CEYLON'S PALM PRODUCTS. 



DURING FIRST QUARTER OF 1912. 



The new year was ushered in with a con- 

 tinuation of the previous five years' dry weather, 

 but during March the whole nut zone got most 

 welcome showers. This rain came in a period 

 when little rain is expected, before the middle 

 of April, the first being, as a rule, our driest 

 quarter. The five years of unusually short 

 rainfall began to tell on our palms, resulting 

 in a run of very small nuts of an alarmingly 

 poor quality and short crops, some estates in 

 our best districts, where some of their pickings 

 are usually 60,000 to 70,000 nuts, falling to 7,000 

 and 8,000. 



Nut estates in the Eastern Province have 

 felt this terrible dry cycle even more than 

 other parts of the nut country, for, during the 

 whole of 1911 they got practically no rain till 

 Sovemberand December and sum up to date 

 this year, in some cases. Watering had to on 

 be resorted to iu the younger plantations. In 

 the Eastern Province strange to say, the average 

 some estates is still under 1,000 nuts to the 

 candy notwithstanding the short rain-fall. Nice 

 showers fell, however, on 1st and 2nd April in 

 some parts of the Eastern Province. 



The export of coconut oil up to April 15th, 

 has been the smallest for four years, the total 

 being 56,374 cwt, against 116,640 cwt. in 1910. 

 Prices, home and local, kept very steady 

 during the quarter, ranging from Rs. 505 to 

 Rs. 550 f.o.b. and £40 to £44 lOs.in London. 

 Our local oil mills must be feeling the heavy 

 export of copra, the bulk of which should be 

 crushed locally. 



The exports of copra show a total of 

 118,921 cwt. but not quite up to 1910. This 

 is no doubt owing to poor quality of the kernel 

 caused by the dry years in the past. It took 

 far more nuts to make a candy of copra than 

 in former years over the 1st quarter, our best 



48 



for outturn. Not a single cwt. of this copra has 

 gone to the U. K. this year to date. 



Prices were also very steady in this, notwith- 

 standing the short supply in January-February, 

 but hardly in keeping with the larger number 

 of nuts it took to the candy, in some cases 

 reaching 2,000. 



The export of desiccated coconut during the 

 quarter has also been very steady. We sent away 

 some 5,024,518 lb. up to April 15th, against 

 5,325,427 1b. in 1911 at same date. The quality 

 of the nut has been very poor and nuts very 

 scarce and towards the end of the quarter, the 

 price as also the demand fell away so much so 

 that several mills did little more than finish up 

 the contracts they had on hand, while several 

 were shut down. The coal strikes and a fear of 

 securing freight seemed to be keeping back 

 home orders. Prices ranged between 22$ cents 

 to 25 cents for ordinary assortment. 



There is an increase in poonac during the 

 quarter as compared with 1911, but we are far 

 behind 1909 and 1910. The export of this is 

 governed very much by oil export, but the local 

 price has been very much against a large local 

 consumption. The total exported up to April 

 15th was 33,198 cwt. 



The increase in nuts in shell is very marked, 

 it being nearly the greatest in four years, the 

 total being 3,234,972 nuts up to April 15th. Like 

 desiccated nut the most of the nuts exported 

 went to the U. K. 



There is a falling-off in coir yarn, while there 

 is a decided increase in fibre owing to the great 

 demand of today for mattress fibre. The price 

 went up to R5 per cwt. Colombo delivery. The 

 result of this increased demand has been the 

 opening of several new mills, while more are 

 talked of. Millers have been paying as high as 

 R3 and over for their husk, per 1,000, while a few 

 years ago it could be had for carting away, It 

 looks as if wo are to have over-production of 

 mattress and bristle fibre. 



