86 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



THE INDIA RUBBER MARKET. 



MESSRS GOW, WILSON & STANTON'S 

 REPORT FOR 1907. 



13, Rood Lane, London, E.O., Dec. 28, 1907. 



The Rubber producing industry in Malaya 

 and Ceylon continues to expand, while the price 

 of British grown Rubber maintains its position 

 at the top of the markets of the world. There 

 has recently been a very rapid increase in the 

 cultivation of Rubber both in Malaya and Cey- 

 lon. The features of the past year having been 

 the large opening up of both these countries 

 with Hevea Braziliensis, and the inception of 

 many new Companies. 



The Potentialities of this New Business 

 are so great that it is diffi cult to forecast what 

 the result may be in a few years' time. So far 

 the soil and climate of both Malaya and 

 Ceylon appear thoroughly well adapted to the 

 healthy growth of Hevea Braziliensis, the species 

 so far giving the best returns to growers, while 

 the profits even at recent quotations, are very 

 satisfactory. The price of Rubber has, how- 

 ever, fallen very materially during the past 

 year, and while the finest class of Rubber from 

 our EasternDependencies was selling in January 

 at 5/9 per lb., its value has generally declined 

 until in November it fell to 3 '10, the lowest 

 point reached since August, 1902. Since then 

 there has been a slight recovery and it is now 

 quoted at about 4/-. The highest prices ob- 

 tained was in the month of May, 1905, viz,» 

 (S/9f. No doubt one of the chief causes for 

 the recent decline was the financial trouble 

 in the United States of America, which has 

 prevented many houses there from filling then- 

 requirements. The fact of these difficulties 

 coming at a time when the motor and electrical 

 industries were quiet, further accentuated the 

 depression. 



THE TOTAL QUANTITY EXPORTED 



from Malaya from January 1st to the end of 

 October, 1907, was 683 tons, and from Ceylon, 

 181 tons, the quantity for the prevous two com- 

 plete years from these places being 130 and 385 

 tons from the former, and 75 and 146 tons from 

 Ceylon. It is gratifying to see not only that 

 manufacturers continue to take the product from 

 our Eastern Dependencies so readily, but that 

 they are willing to pay a much higher price than 

 for any other kind. When plantation was sel- 

 ling at 5/9, Para was worth 5/2£ ; today the 

 highest price for Rubber from the Far East 

 is 4/-, while that of Para is 3/5£. There is 

 now very little doubt that in six or seven years' 



time production will have increased to a 

 large figure, but it is impossible to say whether 

 the price will by that time have fallen to any 

 very great extent, as the 



CONS DMPTION OF THE ARTICLE 



seems likely to increase rather than otherwise, 

 owing to the number of uses to which Rubber 

 is put, and to the expansion of the various 

 classes of motor industries. All this speaks 

 well for the future of British-grown Rubber. 

 The reputation which it has already acquired 

 is mainly due to its purity and careful prepara- 

 tion, and if planters will continue to aim fo 

 super-excellence in these respects, and keep 

 their working costs as low as possible, it looks 

 as if many years of prosperity were in store for 

 the industry. 



Revised table showing total quantity and 

 average prices of plantation rubber offered at 

 auction during the last two years : — 



.o 



Quantity in Tons. 



15,380 \<&1\ 621; \ 814 



Wt3 g a. 



4/9 5-8 



Same period 1906 6,462 98J 250$ 848J 4,13'J 6/6i 



NOTE.— This cancels the table given in oar market 

 report of the 20th inst. 



PERUVIAN RUBBER. 



The vast eastern slope, called the Montana — 

 a somewhat misleading title — at present yields 

 only one product of commercial importance, 

 namely, rubber. It was not until 1885 that 

 the exploitation of Peru's enormous rubber 

 forests began and on that date Iquit6s, al- 

 though founded some years earlier, was a 

 settlement of no importance. At present its 

 population exceeds 20,000, and it is one of 

 the most progressive and enterprising cities 

 in Peru. It ranks as the third port of Peru 

 in its foreign commerce, boing exceeded only 

 by Callao and Mollendo, its combined exports 

 and imports averaging about $4,000,000. The 

 former consists almost entirely of rubber, of 

 which the exports for the last year for which 

 statistics are available, amounted to 02,142,000. 

 Peruvian rubber, inasmuch as it finds its way 

 to the sea via Para, is usually known to 

 commerce as Para rubber, but should a shor- 

 ter and more expeditious route ever be con- 

 structed across the mountains to a Pacific 

 poft, whence the product could be shipped 

 via Panama, it would enter the world's 

 markets with an identity of itB own. — Dun's 

 International Review, Dec. 



