The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-01-24
SUGARS LOW RATES.

! OnIv once in modern times and thar
/ in 1924. in The free-sUgar-and y
| times. has the price OF centrifusals
| bzan - low as It now IS. During that
wear. upon January %. and later IN
! M there was a price Of 30 quoted IN
! XIV York for the raw product. Since
| that pc.ioI there has never been such
| rates are as now being paid for sI&a,.
| . "a. and while the reasons for the IAN
| are apparent, the effect i far-reacA-
| ing.
| II is the universal opinion here ana
on the. coast that the recent great de-
cline in sugar is due primarily to the
holders Of spot sugar in New YORK.
whose. feet have grown cold in view OF
the feht being made in Washington for
chagrar rates Of duty for the Cuban
product. These brokers, or consignees'
nave the sugar Git is reported that the
last quotation was made upon looO
torsJ. and they must sell 1t. 1t IS I'M
darst0pd that they do not want to see
lower prices, but the trust VIII not give
more than the material will bring in
omen market and so the low quotation
is made.
1t is necessary in estimating the eff
feet Of this low price Of sugar 70 look
into the great increase Of production.
w mere II 1888 l-lt t7tl4IltibIA NHh--' 49,
plus was $4,000 tons, that for 1902 is
placed at iO.755,0O0. or an estimated in
crease over last year of 10000 tons.
The suf-ar wear closes on Oct. of each
wear. and the surplus reported last
wear was about 100000 tons. while the
estimated excess for the present year
with that of last is close to 2,oO0,OO0
tons. How this has come about is in
dicated by the great increase in the
consumption of beets. which has grown
from 100000 tons in 1897 to 6.I5o,O0o
for the current year, or an average IN
crease of more than 800, 600 tons for each
of the past six crops.
So great has been the increase in the
manufacture of beet sugar that the in
dustry may in reality hang about its
neck the stone which will drown it.
This country put against the bounty
paying countries, in addition TO the reg
uIar duties. Il countervailing duty of
the same amount as the bounty, that
is paid in the country of it's production
Now Great Britain, the last free mar
ket OF the sugar nations, is seriously
contemplating the putting on of such
a duty. This has been urged upon the
cabinet for many years by the British
countries of the islands of the West
Indies. 1t has been urged by the plant
ers of the Bahamas and Bermuda that
to insure the prosperity of the Islands
there should be such duty put on the
sugar from bounty-paying nations. II
has been shown conclusively that there
is no money in the production of sugar
from beets, in Germany, for instance,
but the payment of a bounty gives to
the grower a small profit. Close to the
grower are the markets of the free
countries, and il will be seen that there /
must result n cutting off of the crop, |
for the people will not continue to grow !
for which there is no mar
Ilet. at a living rate.
The present price of beet sugar in
and London is the very low
est ever known. As it stands today the
price of the beet sugar in New York, !
duty paid, is 3.64, and yet the price of
the cane sugar, of the centrifugal
grade. is 1915. To get the beet rate !
the price paid for the IS degree sugar
must be taken and the additions made /
for the raising it to the grade of the
and payment of duty. This
difference will be adjusted soon, as it |!
is shown that during the year there are
few great variations from a level rate
for the two sugars, one being the high |
er for a time, and then giving place to !
the other. the matter of crops and sea- !
sons governing usually.
An interesting condition of affairs is |
seen in the matter of the Cuban su-
gars under the existing rates. Grant
ing that the sugar from the island is !
all of the centrifugal grade it would be
rated at 1915. 1t must later pay duty |
of 1.6S5, which after the deductions
which are made for the various charges
would mean that the net rate for SUI
gar f. o. b. in Havana would be only
Leo.