and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. 



185 



RUBBER IN THE FAR EAST AND 

 THE AMAZON. 



A VIEW FROM PARA. 



And now about the competition of Ceylon 

 and the Malay States as producers of rubber 

 of a type produced in the past only in the 

 Amazon region. To my mind the British in- 

 vestor in rubber labours under a great mis- 

 take in regard to Brazil, not unnatural in 

 view of the failure of London Companies 

 organised to exploit forest rubber. But the 

 Managers sent out from London have attempted 

 to control the business on London ideas, with- 

 out recognising the possibility of learning from 

 the Brazilian. In Ceylon the Britisher is at 

 home, and his rule is supreme ; he has no 

 competitor there ; he produces rubber and sells 

 it at a profit. The wish being father to the 

 thought, he indulges in visions of the ignorant 

 Brazilian native, with his lack of system, gradu- 

 ally being forced out of the business of pro- 

 ducing rubber, after which the Far East will 

 have a monopoly. " We can grow rubber at 

 a shilling or less a pound in Ceylon," they 

 say; "can you beat that in Brazil ?" 



No man today knows the cost of a pound 

 of rubber in the Amazon country, either on 

 one seringal or in general. In a land where 

 no money circulates, this man or that taps so 

 many trees, cures his rubber, and gets from the 

 seringal store enough to eat, some clothes and 

 tobacco. The cost of rubber does not interest 

 him ; its selling price is nothing. So with the 

 proprietors : the world needs rubber, and in a 

 few years trading in it brings him a fortune. 



But suppose rubber prices should drop to half 

 — something of which at present there is abso- 

 lutely no indication. On the thousands of care- 

 fully laid out s&ringats of the Amazon are mil- 

 lions and millions of mature and productive 

 trees, yielding rubber which has never been 

 wholly equallod elsewhere in the world. They 

 are owned by people who have capital,, and are 

 skilled in business and adaptable to circum- 

 stances. While temporarily lower prices may 

 disturb business conditions, a permanently 

 lower level would mean simply that the serin- 

 gueiros, still in goods, would be credited with, 

 say. 2milreis instead of 4 milreis per kilogram 

 on the books of the set ingal; they might become 

 less extravagant, and the proprietor might lessen 

 his rate of profit on the goods dispensed ; but 

 so long as the trees are here and the rubber 

 workers on the ground, there will be capital 

 available whereby the natives will be able to 

 sustain life by their labour, the capitalists will 

 profit, and the Government will derive revenue 

 from the business. 'J he consolidation of the 

 business of aviador and seringal owner is a step 

 toward the possible new condition. 



Another point is that the ability now of rubber 

 producers to store their product when prices are 

 unfavourable, thus rendering the market more 

 stable, will lessen the risks involved in rubber 

 trading, and the necessity for " long " profit on 

 goods. But more than this : With such returns 

 as have been obtainable from rubber in the past, 

 little thought has been given to other produc- 

 tion. Why trifle with growing food when it can 



bo imported, with the world eager to throw 

 money at Brazil for rubber ? All hands, then 

 to collecting rubber ; and when the rivers rise 

 and stop rubber work, they can live from the 

 store supplies until next crop season. Already, 

 however, on the better seringals cattle have 

 been introduced for the supply of meat and 

 crops are being cultivated to take the place, in 

 part, of imported food. 



I have not figured out here the cost of a pound 

 of forest " Para " rubber ; the difficulty of doing 

 this is, I think, plain. But the reader who has 

 entertained any idea of the disappearance of 

 rubber gathering from the Amazon country 

 may find in my article reason for less confi- 

 dence on this score. 



Gustav Heinsohn. 



Para, May 19, 1909. 

 — India Fubber World, July 1. 



RUBBERS FIGURES, 1909: 

 OF JUNE. 



TO END 



Statistics in Tons op Para Grades for 

 Month of June, 1909. 



(Including Peruvian). 



Liver- Conti- 

 pool. America, nental. 



; a a- 



During June 

 Do do 

 Do do 

 Do do 



1909 

 1908 

 1907 

 1906 



5 §2 

 S£ ,|| 



1570 960 

 1660 1050 1110 



a 3 a 3 



I s a s 



920 1102 1189 1620 1460 140 270 

 984 1427 1530 16S0 350 400 



1500 1100 930 958 1101 880 970 510 480 

 1650 830 700 799 907 600 690 340 370 



Note.— The Receipts at Para for June, 1909, 



show a decrease of 90 tons against 



June, 1908. 

 The Shipments to Europe for June, 



1909, show a decrease of 90 tons against 



June, 1908. 

 The Shipments to America for June, 



1909, show a decrease of 190 tons 



against June, 1908. 

 Liverpool Imports for June, 1909, show 



an increase of 118 tons against June, 



1908. 



American Imports for June, 1909 show 

 an increase of 90 tons against June, 

 1908. 



English deliveries for June, 1909, show 

 a decrease of 238 tons against, June, 

 1908. 



American deliveries for June, 1909, 

 show a decrease of 220 tons against 

 June, 1908. 



World's Visible Supply, on July 1st, 1909. 



Stock in England, 1st hand 

 Do do 2nd hand 



Stock of Caucho in England 



Stock in Para, 1st hand 

 Do do 2nd hand 

 Do America 

 Do on Continent 



Arloat to Europe 

 Do America 



Total 



1909. 



1908. 



1907. 



1906. 



Para. 



Cauch. 









1C9 





868 



796 



739 



205 





350 



148 



187 





798 



1240 



608 



299 



50 



20 



180 



30 





190 



10 



250 



170 



230 



380 



410 



510 



570 



550 



10 



20 



250 



170 



560 



480 



290 



570 



810 



490 



1C0 



60 



410 



300 



390 



1521 



1008 









3132 



4634 



3002 



3445 



24 



