The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-06-28
THE VEGETABLE OIL MARKET.
"A Trade Which Forms Great In
dustry at SInrseiIIes

Robert P Skinner, the United States
Consul General at Marseilles in report
to the State Department refers at length
to the oil and seed trade of Marseilles.
He says:
''Marsei1les is without doubt the greatest
manufacturing and consuming point for
vegetable oils in the world. Every i'm
pOrtant OIeag inous seed known to com
merce is required by the crushing trade,
and the equally important soap trade alb
serbs a large part of the product, and in
recent years has purchased from 112. go to
$4,000 barrels of American cotton-se oil
as We'll The statistical situation is clearly
set forth in the accompany table. from
which it viii be seen that the imports in
1909 of all oil seeds, other than copra and
palm kernels. were about 10000 tons in
excess of the previous year, while the i'm
ports of copra and palm kernels alone
showed an increase of II. 90 tons over the
previous year. Local mills crushed Prac-
ticaIiy all of the $4,000 tons imported,
which, in addition to the 1880 tons Of oil
imported, gave in round numbers about
$4,000 tons of oil for soap making and ed
ible purposes OF this total production,
the local soap industry consumed about
5000 tons
cent of cocoanut oil and 50 per cent of
peanut or American cotton-seed oil Two
thirds of the copra from which the cocoa
oil is produced is received here from Ma
Mia. and both the sun-dried and kiln
dried qualities are handled. preferably the
latter There is a growing disposition on
the part of shippers in the East, other
than those in the Philippine Islands, to
send kiIn-dried copra, and the greater
care they take in the collection of the
merchandise makes it profitable TO them.
An increasing quantity Of copra is re-
quired in this market, and other markets
are being developed in the commercial
centres Of Europe. Buyers are some
what at a loss to know what turn prices
viii take during the next twelve months.
because of conflicting statements with
regard to the Philippine Islands During
the instruction. shipments from Manila
were very much curtailed, and at one
time almost ceased. Immediately after the
opening of the blockaded ports, the copra
collected during the preceding years was
forwarded TO the European market, and
in the absence of any official crop reports,
European buyers are unable to determine
TO their own satisfaction whether there
is still a large quantity Of unseId copra
in the interior of the country, which will
gradually seek a market or whether the
accumulated stock has been entirely dis
posed of
The failure of the peanut crops in IN
dia and 10 a lesser extent elsewhere. some
years ago. gave the first impetus TO the
cotton-seed oil trade in this port, but re-
Gently the Indian farmers. who had fol
lowed the practice of repIanting their land
with seed from the previous years crop.
have adopted more scientific methods, and
the result is shown III the increased arri-
walls Of their product. They are now cul-
tivating their land carefully and using
the best quality of African nuts for seed
and recurrence of the former trouble is
not anticipated Last year. 1880 tons Of
Indian peanuts were received az Mar
settles. the total being very considerable
increase over the year before, and it is
expected that this years arrivals from
the same source viii amount to $500
tons. These receipts, together with those
from African sources. viii naturally at
feet American cotton-seed oil sales in
MarseiIles to Just that extent, as the lat
ter is always marketable at good price.
and buyers in the soap trade seek il only
when they are unable TO secure cheaper
vegetable oils OF domestic manufacture
The great demand for Iow-grade cocoa
nut oil for soap manufacturing purposes
has a tendency to keep the MarseilIes
mills out Of tho manufacture OF other
cocoa products. The only firm in this
CITY mauufa curing cocoa butter IS that
of Rocca. Tassy & De RouX- This firm
manufactures not only the ordinary soap
oils. but highly refined product known
as ''vesetaline'' which Is fusibIe at a
temperature Of % degrees centigrade,
and cocoa butter properly speaking
known here as ''caeaoline.' fusibIe at a
temperature of 81 degrees centigraGe.
Vegetaline is an edible copra oft II sold
throughout last year at S15-H PEI 20
pounds T. o b., and the cacacline, which
has the consistency of butter. brought
IS 80 per 220 pounds. The producing ca
pacity of this concern is about fifty tons
OF cocoa butter per month CocoanIIts in
their natural state are imported here to a
very insignificant extent and the only
other product Of the cocoanUt sold in this
market is the shredded meat Of the nut
used to some extent By manufacturing
coufectioners-
vegetable lard finds a ready sale here
The most important buyer is the L Felix
Fourier Company. This corporation
corresponds fairly weli with the American
ldea OF q ITGSlr COULFOliiuE WOFkS IN Mar
settles and Paris. The requirements in
AIarseilles amount to eighty tons daily
of taIiow and palm-kerHeI oil The Paris
branch is less important. The concern
is probably the largest candIe-manufac-
turing company in the world, and buys
quantities of both animal and vegetable
talIOW. Accurate statistics with regard
to vegetabl talIcw are almost impossi-
bic TO obtain, as the article is grouped
with other merchandise. The vegetable
tallow of foreign manufacture is received
mainly from China. and the annual in
ports are estimated at 500 tons There
is also manufactured in this city about
500 tons annually from IIippi nuts. These
are received and crushed almost exclu-
sivelv by II. Beau & Gle, % rue Mont
grand The product contains % per cent
of fatty acid. and completes on even
terms with tallow containing 43 per cent
Of fatty acid.
"CocOanut oil is growing stronger from
month to month, prices having risen
from 1856 per 30 pounds in January TO
50 50 in May, with every prospect of re-
tanning the present level, and probably
of going d little higher.
The Republican Nominee.
(From the Chicago Chronicle-)
No,- chat President Mckinley has formally elm