The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



BRAZIL PRODUCTION OF COCOA. 



Rio tie Janeiro, Nov. -23.— Cocoa is one of 

 Brazil's s taple export products, and represents 

 for the State of Bahia what coffee does for Sao 

 Paulo. Its production is steadily increasing, 

 and, although no official or private statistics re- 

 cord the growth of the internal consumption of 

 cocoa, this is to a considerable extent confirmed 

 by the increased iuter-state trade and the erec- 

 tion of new chocolate factories during the past 

 few years. The State of Para ranks second in 

 the production of cocoa, followed by Amazonas 

 and Pernambuco, but the output of both these 

 States is small when compared with that of 

 Bahia, and at the same time very irregular. In 



1902 the production of cocoa in Bahia was 

 16,197,000 kilos, and since then it has steadily 

 increased, reaching in 1906 a total of 22,914,000 

 kilos. On the other hand, the production in 

 Para has gradually fallen from 4,372,000 kilos in 



1903 to 1,752,000 kilos in 1006. In Amazonas 

 and Pernambuco production has been erratic. 

 In the former State the total in 1903 was 

 587,000 kilos, in the following year it rose to 

 over a million kilos, but in 1906 it fell to 357,000 

 kilos. Pernambuco, which in 1903 only pro- 

 duced 15,000 kilos, was credited with a pro- 

 duction of 114,000 kilos in 1905. In the fol- 

 lowing year, however, the total production de- 

 creased by more than 50 per cent. 



Exports and Prices. 

 Official statistics show the following export 

 movement during the past five years :— 



Kilos. Value. 

 140.1 .. 2(1,899,(143 .. £1,012,224 



19(11 .. 23,160,028 .. 1,095,5:i5 



1905 .. 21,090,088 .. 1,039,53;'. 



1906 .. 25,135,307 . 1,380,441 



1907 .. 24,397,249 .. 2,136,265 



48,794,498 

 4,880,000 « 



53,674,498lb,= nearly 500,000 cwt. in 1907. 



Notwithstanding the smaller clearances in 

 1907 when compared with those of the previous 

 year, it will be noticed that in value they show 

 a large increase, which is due entirely to the 

 sharp advance in prices last year. According 

 to official records, the current price of Bahia 

 cocoa in 1905 was Rs. $585 per kilo ; in 1906, 

 Rs. $587 ; and in 1907, Rs. 1 $056. The average 

 price of cocoa in 1907, as compared with that 

 for 1906, shows the extraordinary increase of 

 Rs. $469, equivalent to 79-90 per cent. 



France was at one time the largest purchaser 

 of Brazilian cocoa, but in 1906 she surrendered 

 that distinction to the United States, with 

 Germany second. In 1903 exports to France 

 reached a total of 8,294,000 kilos, but since then 

 they have shown a steady falling oft', and in 1906 

 the total had declined to 5,283,000 kilos. Ex- 

 ports to the United States have increased from 

 5,263,000 kilos in 1903 to 8,894,000 kilos in 1906, 

 while shipments to Germany rose from 3, 122,000 

 kilos in 1903 to 7,190,000 kilos in 1906. Exports 

 to Great Britain in 1903 totalled 2,177,000 kilos ; 

 in 1904, 2,071,000 kilos ; in 1905, 1,250,000 kilos ; 

 and in 1906, 2,020,000 kilos. 



During the first quarter of the current year 

 exports of cocoa amounted to 9,276,043 kilos, 

 which is an increase of 4,127,434 kilos (80-17 



per cent) on the corresponding period of last 

 yoar. The average prico of Bahia cocoa during 

 the first quarter of 1907 is officially registered as 

 $912 reis per kilo, and for the same period this 

 year as $903. 



Prospects of the Industry. 

 The prospects for this product are, on the 

 whole, encouraging, because consumption is 

 steadily growing and keeping pace with the in- 

 creased production. So far, its commercial 

 development has only been fostered by private 

 enterprise, but in view of the proposed coffee 

 propaganda scheme by the States of Sao Paulo, 

 Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Geraes, fostered by 

 the Federal Government, it would be well for 

 the Government of Bahia to take similar mea- 

 sures to advertise its principal export product. 

 — London Tmes, Dec. 18. 



THE SMYRNA FIG IN WEST 

 AUSTRALIA. 



In August last the Department of Agriculture 

 communicated with the Commissioner of Horti- 

 culture, California, with a view of making ar- 

 rangements for the introduction of the Caprifine 

 insect of the Smyrna fig. Information has just 

 been received from Mr Ahrhorn, Deputy-Com- 

 missioner, San Francisco, that such arrange- 

 ments have now been made, that he will himself 

 attend to the shipments on the Californian side, 

 and that he will do everything to make them a 

 success. These insects are expected to arrive in 

 the course of the summer, and they will be for- 

 warded to the experimental station at Hamel, 

 where a plantation of both Capri and Smyrna 

 figs was established a few years ago. These trees 

 are now bearing, and ready for the insects. The 

 communication received from California further 

 states that the Blastophaga, which is the name 

 of the insect, was some time ago sent to Mr 

 Lounsbury, Government Entomologist, Cape of 

 Good Hope, and was successfully established. 

 Mr Lounsbury also writes to the department 

 that he will gladly supply insects as soon as pos- 

 sible. The Smyrna fig has a world-wide reputa- 

 tion, but, unfortunately, it has the peculiarity of 

 dropping before maturity unless previously ferti- 

 lised by the insect referred to, which winters 

 inside the Capri fig. — Westralia7i paper, Dec. 5. 



SINGAPORE'S INCREASING TRADE 

 IN COPRA. 



In reviewing the trade of Singapore for the past 

 year the Straits Times (Dec. 31) states that the 

 exports of copra continue to furnish satis- 

 factory returns, again showing an enormous 

 advance over previous years, and establishing a 

 record for at least the last half of a decade. 

 There is an increase of some 90,000 piculs 

 shipped to Great Britain and to the Continent 

 of Europe, the United Kingdom receiving 

 something like 63,000 piculs more than in 1907, 

 and the Continent of Europe importing about 

 30,000 piculs over the quantity received last 

 year. During 1903, only 5,041 piculs of copra 

 were exported from Singapore to Great Britain, 

 and 581,25! piculs to Europe, while during the 

 year just closing the figures will be about 90,000 

 and 85,000, respectively. 



