Edible Product*. 



174 



It is to bo noticed that the planting of high-grade cocoas is not being 

 carried on to the same extent as the cheaper varieties, which may be accounted 

 for by the fact that cocoa is now no longer merely a luxury, but is becoming 

 a staple article of food even amongst the working classes, this end having, in 

 a great measure, been brought about by improved methods introduced in the 

 process of manufacture, which has enabled the lower grades of cocoa to be 

 handled to advantage. 



In 1904 Hamburg became the leading centre of the cocoa trade, having 

 far surpassed Havre and New York. London, however, is losing ground year by 

 year in favour of both Hamburg and New York, as will be seen from the 

 following tables : — 



Cocoa Received at Various Ports. 



Port. 



1902. 



1903. 



1904. 





Sacks. 



Sacks. 



Sacks. 



London 

 Havre 

 Hamburg .. 

 New York 



227,025 

 515,291 

 371,100 

 296,425 



183,362 

 504,167 

 409,435 

 351,455 



210,395 

 446,751 

 645,136 

 413,298 



Cocoa Disposed of for either 



HOiME Consumption or 



Export. 



Port, 



1902. 



1903. 



1904. 





Sacks. 



Sacks. 



Sacks. 



London 

 Havre 

 Hamburg . 

 New York 



239,887 

 471,507 

 369,235 

 304,861 



197,247 

 497,239 

 406,354 

 350,086 



178,547 

 430,699 

 589,051 

 408,824 





Cocoa on Hand at the end of each Year. 





Port. 



1902. 



1903. 



1904. 





Sacks. 



Sacks. 



Sacks. 



London .. 

 Havre 

 Hamburg .. 

 New York 



64,197 

 114,345 

 17,772 

 11,446 



50,340 

 121,252 

 20,853 

 12,815 



83,092 

 137,304 

 77,038 

 17,289 



The proportion disposed of compared with the amount received differed 

 considerably in the various ports, and was as follows :— 



Percentage of Sacks OffERED which remained Unsold at the End of the Year. 



Average of the 



Port. 1902. 1903. 1904. Three Years. 



Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 

 London ... ... 21 20 32 244 



Havre ... ... 194 194 24 214 



Hamburg ... ... 44 5 11 7 



New York ... ... 3| 34 4 4 



From the above it will be seen that cocoa remains longest unsold in London, 

 and this is probably one of the reasons why Trinidad and Ceylon firms are shipping 

 less to that port than formerly. The reason why such a large amount always 

 remains on hand in Havre is that the consumers instead of taking the cocoa direct 

 from the ship to their factories, prefer to keep it several months in bond, as in this 

 way they are protected against sudden price fluctuations, and the cocoa besides 

 becoming milder, also dries up to a certain extent, which of course causes a saving 

 in the amount of duty to be paid. In Germany this plan is also adopted by some 

 firms, but it is not nearly so general as in France. ' . 



Every year manufacturers are getting more into direct communication with 

 the producers abroad, and now a. considerable portion of the cocoa, which passes 

 through Hamburg, Havre, and New York, goes straight to the manufacturer with- 



