The Lamar register., 1891-05-23
Our Trade in sugar.

1mportations of sugar into the United
States will average at the present time
not far from 1881, 100000 pounds annu-
ally, valued at 73,450,OOO AS the value
of all classes of imported goods are worth
about S430,OOO,OO0, it will be seen that
sugar represents about one-sixth Of all
goods or articles imported; the sugar
imported from the Sandwich Islands is
not included in the above, and as sugar
from that source is over 275, 100000
pounds, the total value of all sugar i'm
ported will reach nearly S82, 600. The
sugar we import comes mainly from the
so-callcd Spanish American countries,
Cuba sending us about one-half, and
Brazil and the British West Indies each
about one-eighth, Brazil being little
the largest, sending us something over
325,00O, 600 pounds; British Guiana, San
Domingo, and Porto Rico supplying most
OF the remainder; Mexico in 1888 sent us
614,574 pounds. The Importation Of beet
sugar from Europe is growing into good
ly proportions and in the year ending
June, 1888, amounted to about 65.OO0,OOO
pounds. The following year, viz: ending
June, 1889, the quantity had nearly quad
rupled, and reached the large amount of
243, ,474 600 pounds. The use of this grade
of sugar will before long have such a !.
strong hold upon the people that the
growers of cane sugar will have to recog-
nize this competition. The Spanish
American countries are large importers
of refined sugar, and as they would nat
urally favor buying cane sugar refined
rather than the beet sugar of Europe,
which is grown in direct competition
with their product, we can hope to see
our expectations of refined sugar in
crease, as soon as the means of commu-
nication are improved, as they undoubt-
edly will be before many months. Our
exports of refined sugar at the present
time amount to about 100000 pounds
to Spanish American countries, and &c.
100000 pounds to all the world, valued
at s2,3OO,OO0 besides 10000 gallons of
molasses. In the examination of statis-
tics on subjects like that Of sugar, one is
apt to find many curious facts. In this
connection there is nothing more peculiar
than the fact that the most of
the countries growing cane sugar are
large importers Of beet sugar, and this
can only be accounted for in two ways:
the bounty paid by the European coun-
tries to growers of beet sugar, and the
superior means of transportation between
Europe and Spanish American countries,
enabling the refiners of beet sugar to un-
1ersell their comnetitors AnOther me-
culiarity is that Cuba, in the year 1888,
imported from the United States less
than ton of refined sugar, the value of
the importation being 500, and during
the same time was a customer for SIT 600
worth of candies (American). The United
States of Columbia was our largest Gus
toner for refined sugar, the quantity be-
ing 100000 pounds or about three
pounds for every four pounds of raw SUI
gar scnt by that country to the United
States. The sugar grown in the South
ern States amounts to nearly 100000, 900
pounds annually, and in order to find the
total production of the United States.
we must add the average production of
maple 10000 tons), beet Il 600 tons), and
sorghum $3.50 tons), making total of
something over six xpounds per capita of
domestic sugar out of a total of fifty two
pounds per capita consumed showing
that we used forty-six pounds of foreign
sugar for each six pounds grown in the
United States.--G. B. Hdnford's Month
ly Letter.