Edible Products. 



170 



THE WORLD'S COCOA CROPS AND CONSUMPTION, 1901-04. 



The 1904 cocoa crops in many countries, but especially in Ecuador, Trinidad, 

 San Domingo, the Gold Coast, and Cameroons, proved to be the largest on record. 

 In general, the crops of all countries which have only taken up the cultivation of 

 cocoa in recent years, have increased in a far greater degree than those of the older 

 producing countries, as is shown in the following table, which gives the crops of all 

 countries during the four years 1901-04 :— 



World's Cocoa Crop. 





Tons. 



Tons. 



Tons. 



Tons. 



1 



Per 



cent. 



Ecuador ... 



22,896 



24,965 



23,238 



28,4&3 



■f 



221 



Brazil 



18,323 



20,370 



20,738 



23,160 



+ 





St. Thomas 



16.982 



i I ,yoy 



<sl,i5U 



Z0,o2n 





M 



Trinidad ... 



11,942 



15,955 



14,885 



18,574 



+ 



25 



San Domingo 



6,850 



8,975 



7,825 



13,557 



-f- 



74 



Venezuela 



7,860 



9,925 



12,550 



13,048 



+ 



4 



Grenada ... 



4,865 



5,975 



6,150 



6.226 



+ 



n 



Gold Coast 



996 



2,436 



2,297 



5,687 



+ 



148 



Cuba and Porto Rieo 



1,750 



1.875 



2,625 



3,266 



+ 



15| 



Ceylon 



2,697 



2.673 



3,075 



3,254 



+ 



6 



Haiti 



1,950 



1,994 



2,175 



2,531 



+ 



16* 



Jamaica ... 



1,352 



1,525 



1,650 



1,650 





0" 



5| 



Martinique and Guadeloupe ... 



825 



925 



1,150 



1,215 



+* 



Dutch East Indies ... 



1,276 



889 



1,458 



1,140 





21^ 



Cameroons, Samoa and Togo 



528 



648 



805 



1,109 



+ 



40 



Surinam ... 



3,163 



2.355 



2,224 



854 





61 f 



St. Lucia ... 



765 



'785 



800 



800 









Dominica... 



— 







485 







Congo Free State ... 









231 







Other countries 



700 



700 



800 



80(5 







■ 



105,720 



120,939 



125,895 



146,552 







Percentage of increase against 



+3£% 













the previous year 



+14|% 



+ 4% 



+ 16% i 







The most noticeable increase, viz., 148 per cent., occurred in the Gold Coast, 

 where every year more and more plantations are reaching the producing stage, 

 which requires five to six years. The district of Accra alone produced 515 tons, and 

 Lagos and Nigeria together 53 tons, most of which was shipped to Hamburg, and 

 consumed in Germany. The Accra cocoa in particular, during the few years it has 

 been obtainable in any quantity, has established for itself a ready market in 

 Germany, and there are times when the supply is not sufficient to cope with the 

 demand. 



In San Domingo, where the next largest increase is shown, the plantations 

 are mostly in the hands of small farmers, with the exception of a few large estates, 

 the most important of which belongs to the Swiss chocolate firm Suchard, and is 

 fitted out with extensive agricultural machinery and narrow gauge railways. 

 Whereas in the Gold Coast, the cultivation is almost entirely in the hands of the 

 natives, in San Domingo, in spite of the smallness of many of the plantations, they 

 are often Avorked on scientific lines, and as suitable land is obtainable at a very low 

 price, the crop may be expected to increase from year to year. Hamburg is the 

 principal market for San Domiugo cocoas. The quantities exported from the various 

 parts are shown in the following table :— 



