Oils and Fats. 



% 



[July, 1911. 



The subjoined table shows the condi- 

 tions of production during the past lew 

 years, i.e., during the administrative and 



not the calendar 



years. 









1907. 



1908. 



1909. 



Formosa 4 



Piculs 



Piculs, 



Piculs. 



1. Camphor A ... 



2. Improved B ... 



3. Camphor B ... 



17,796 

 28,879 



314 

 31,040 

 16,594 



31,007 

 29,342 



Total ... 



Japan : 



1. Improved B ... 



2. Camphor B ... 



46,675 



4,818 

 4,338 



47,948 



6,552 

 5,457 



60,349 



8,139 

 3455 



Total ... 



9,156 



12,009 



11,504 



Grand Total ... 



55,831 



59,957 



71,943 



B is crude camphor ; improved B (BB) 

 is crude camphor which has been purifi- 

 ed to 97% by distillation. A is pressed 

 BB and is only prepared in Formosa- 



The estimated production during the 

 administrative year 1910 is for Formos a 

 58,090 piculs of camphor and 67,300 pi culs 

 camphor oil ; therefore, assuming that 

 30,000 piculs of camphor will be recover- 

 ed from the oil, the total output of 

 Formosa would amount to 88,000 piculs. 



This estimate is based upon the 

 assumption that the advance in prices 

 which has taken place on the European 

 market since the end of last year, will 

 again induce the producers to prepare 

 sufficient camphor to satisfy the largest 

 possible demand. But whether this 

 high estimate will, in fact, be realised 

 appears for the present all the more 

 doubtful, because in spite of the abun- 

 dance of camphor forests in the island, 

 a lack of trees is already making itself 

 felt in those districts where order has 

 been established, so much so, that 

 occasionally it is necessary to distil old 

 branches and roots. In any case, how- 

 ever, the production in Formosa during 

 the administrative year shows an in- 

 crease over the preceding year, whereas 

 in Japan, in spite of every endeavour, 

 it has been impossible to increase the 

 production to the desired extent, not- 

 withstanding the fact that as the re- 

 maining supplies of trees dwindled, the 

 distilling plants were not only frequent- 

 ly removed, but young trees and roots 

 also were worked up. 



As regards the new plantations which 

 are being laid down energetically both 

 in Old Japan and in Formosa, it is to be 



observed that plants raised from seed 

 cannot be worked up until they are at 

 least 15 years old, and also that the ex- 

 pariments of growing camphor trees 

 from roots or slips have been a failure* 

 both in Formosa and in Japan. 



Owing to the serious reduction in 

 price, the revenues of the Monopoly 

 have fallen off greatly, and in Old Japan, 

 where the average price of production 

 of the camphor during the past three 

 years has been about 90 yen per picul, 

 the Monopoly has actually been working 

 at a loss. But in Formosa also, although 

 the cost prices there are lower (58 to 60 

 yen per picul) it is doubtful whether, 

 under the present conditions, the 

 Monopoly can cover its expenses, taking 

 into account the very onerous export- 

 ation and freight charges, as well as the 

 costly military operations against the 

 ravages which have been undertaken 

 for the purpose of opening up new 

 camphor forests. 



Newspaper reports state that for the 

 reasons above mentioned the firm of 

 Mitsui and Co. which, as is well known, 

 at present controls the marketing of the 

 camphor Monopoly, advised the Japa- 

 nese Government some time ago to 

 abolish the State Monopoly, because it 

 would otherwise be impossible to main- 

 tain the article against the competition 

 of the Chinese and the artificial pro- 

 ducts. It is, however, to be expected 

 that the Government, being loth to 

 abandon a Monopoly which has been 

 established on a large scale and with a 

 considerable staff, will for the present 

 concentrate its efforts upon continuing 

 the struggle against the synthetic 

 camphor, even at a loss, at any 

 rate so long as there are grounds for 

 hope that it can dictate prices which 

 will make the manufacture of the syn- 

 thetic product unprofitable. That the 

 Japanese Government assumes for 

 certain that this is the case at the pre- 

 sent time, may be inferred from the 

 statement of the Director of the Mono- 

 poly Bureau that " natural camphor 

 was not threatened by any danger so 

 long as no new manufacturing processes 

 were discovered which would make it 

 possible to produce synthetic camphor 

 at a lower cost than the present." 



The table below shows the quantities 

 of camphor exported during the admin- 

 istrative year to the various countries 

 of destination :— 



