April i, 1882.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
849 
THE COFFEE EXPORTS OF RIO AND SANTOS, 
We have now received the exact figures, through 
the medium of Messrs. Kern, Hayn & Co. 's circulars, 
of the exports of coffee from Rio for the past four 
calendar years, thus :— 
1878 167,240 tons. 
1879 206,327 ,, 
1880 202,124 ,, 
1881 258,313 „ 
So that, from Rio alone, over a third more coffee 
was exported in J 881 than was sent away in 1378. 
The increase in exact figures was 91,073 tons, or 
1,821,460 cwt. : that is, an increase equal to three 
times a fair Ceylon crop ! The total export from 
liio last year was represented in cwt. by the figures 
5,166,260. The Santos circular, although dated 1st 
January, does not give the shipments for the years, 
but for last half of each year. For the period be- 
tween 1st July and 31st December of the past four 
years, the shipments were : — 
1878 32,654 tons. 
1879 31,733 „ 
1880 34,160 „ 
1881 44,157 „ 
It will be observed that the last half of 1881 shewed 
an increase of 10,000 tons on the corresponding period 
of last year, while the increase on the last half of 
1878 was no less than 11,493 tons. As our readers 
are already aware, the exports in 1S81 of Rio and 
Santos, with some additions from minor ports, made 
up a total export from Brazil of as nearly as possible 
7,000,000 cwt., besides the quantity (very large) in 
stock, and the proportion consumed locally. The ex- 
port of 1882, from Santos certainly, and from Rio 
probably, will exceed that of 1881. Then the check 
of low prices may be expected to operate in 1883. 
Messrs. Kern. Hayn & Co. say, in regard to Rio : — 
C'ofi'ek.— During the mown under review receipts from 
the interior showed a further decrease, which fact, although 
we are accu>tomed to see it repeat itself almost regularly 
ut this time of the year, was sufficient to prevent a decline 
of some importance in our currency prices. 
Regarding Santos, the coffee from which port com- 
petes to a greater degree with Ceylon plantation, we 
have fuller and more interesting details_: — 
In our report of 1st January 18S1, we pointed out 
that the production of cotter in'our province (Sao 1'aulo) 
w:is rapidly increasing and expressed the hope that the rail- 
way traffic would assume the quick pace, winch large crops 
reader necessary, and we are glad to be able to state that 
our hopes have been realized. 
In the same report we alluded to the eventual inferior out- 
turn of the quality, considering the larger crops we have 
henceforward to expect and the limited number of black 
labourers of which the planters can dispose. 
This was however— we are happy to say— only to a 
smaller extent the case than we anticipated, because, 
though we have to deal with the largest crop known in 
our province, it is generally agreed that the quality of 
the eolfee received during the last six mouths, thoti"h 
it is not equal to that of the precoding crop, turned out 
much better than it was expected. 
This may be attributed to the fnct that machinery has 
to 11 large extent been introduced and now does, of 
course, the work of many hands ; there are hardly any of the 
the larger planters who have not set ono or two steam- 
engines at work. Whether this system may be a proper 
substitute for an eventual further decrease of hands during 
the next years remains to be seen. With regard to the 
question as to the introduction of Chinese labourers, stirred 
189 
Th 
the ! 
limy 
mg the earlier 
stricted to small lots. 
The number of buyers remained limited until towards 
middle of the month, when large sales for Havre account 
were reported, and soon afterwards a heavy decline in ex- 
change called forward a general demand, followed by 
numerous and large transactions. The market remained 
very active up to the latter part of the month, when on 
account of the holidays and of very discouraging reports 
from consuming countries buyers retired from the market, 
which closes very quiet. 
In our report of 1st July 1881 we estimated the probable 
export during during 1881-82 at about 1,600,000 to 1,700,000 
bags. Efforts have been made to reduce these figures by 
stating that the present crop had suffered by drought etc., 
in reply to which accounts we can but state that accord- 
ing to the official railway-statistics 9-14,519 bags of coffee 
have been received in Santos during the last six months 
from which quantity, according to the statistics annexed, 
about 747,000 bags (equal to about 44,157 tons) have been 
shipped from our port during the same period, and even 
those who had an interest to put down the result of the 
present crop to a smaller figure must now confess that 
that there is still a large quantity tf coffee in the interior. 
Our opinion therefore is, that we, here in Santos, shall 
have to deal with much larger export figures than hitherto 
known, and this not only during this campaign but very 
likely also during the next one's. 
With regard to the 1882-83 crop we consider it still to 
early, to give even an approximate, estimate, but if we 
were asked 
1,700.000 
ning crop 
to 1,800,000 bags as the probable yield of 
as far sa our personal impression is concerned. 
A crop of 1,800,000 bags, at 17 bags to a ton, would 
be over 111,800 tons, or 2,236,000 cwt., or not far 
short of four times our Ceylon crop ! These Brazil 
figures are really overwhelming; but we all know 
that low prices prevail, and, although the brokers do 
not mention coffee disease, we are aware that in some 
parts it has appeared with deadly effect. The labour 
difficulty, too, cannot long be staved off even by 
means of machinery and railway facilities. 
COFFEE EXPORTS FROM BRAZIL. 
Our readers will have observed that Messrs. Wilson. 
Smithett & Co. gave 250,420 tons as the export of 
cofl'co from Rio in 18S1. Messrs. Kern, Hayn & Co., 
writing in Rio on 1st January, stated 258 313 to have 
been the quantity. Even if the lower figures are tho 
more correct, and the figures for Santos aro equally re- 
liable, thero is no room to doubt that in 1SS1 Brazil 
must have grown over eight millions of cwt. of coffee 
of which seven millions wero exported and one million 
locally consumed. (The usual estimate for local con- 
sumption has been 60,000 tons or 1,200,000 cwt.) 
Taking Messrs Wilson, Smithett kCo.'s figures, we get 
for Rio, ... .. 5.iH>8.400owt. 
„ Santos ... ... 1,621,880 ,, 
Together 
6,630,280 cwt. 
