The San Francisco call., 1908-11-22
ITALIANS REFINE
ONLY BEET SUGAR
Beneficial Results Follow the
Introduction of the In
dustry

All the sugar produced in Italy is re-
fined from the Gugar beet. No cane
sugar is produced. and therefore small
quantity is imported TO meet g special
demand, the imports in 1906 amounting
to only 12,412 tons, the largest i'm
port since 1902, when it amounted to
POOH tons. Austria supplied more
than one-half the total imports in
1906, France, Belgium and the United
Kingdom following in their respective
order.
The 100000 acres under sugar cultiva-
tion in Italy were formerly almost waste
ground, with the exception of a small
amount of fruit grown thereon. Today
this ground yields from $40 to $50 worth
of beets per acre. Formerly the fruit
grown on the ground brought from
SIS to $40 per acre. This increase means
q. great deal to Italian agriculture in
general. It raised the wages paid
farm labor about 2 2-S cents per acre
and gives employment to large num-
bers. of factory hands, at from so cents
to S1.l0 per day. There are al pres
ent about $4,000 persons. employed in
the sugar industry in Italy.
The byproducts are also used to good
advantage, mostly for feeding animals
The price of these byproducts is about
| 70 cents per ton. To produce the
Italian sugar output 1t is necessary to
Z
yield enough OF byproducts to feed
10000 cattle. Formerly the byproducts
from the previous cultivation on the
ground where the beet is now grown
fed only 5000 cattle. It is also stated
that the waste of the refinery pro-
cess is commencing to be used as a.
fertilizer. In many other ways the In
dustry has been useful
DISPOSITION OF WASTE
italy is not manufactured, on account
Of the high cost of that process, but
4 is sold in the open market for the dis
tillation of alcohol
/ 1t takes 3.54 tons of sugar beets 70
! produce one ton Of sugar 100 per cent
pure. The Italian refinery must pay
the cultivator an average price of
( s4.55 per ton Of beets, including trans
port expenses from the field to the re-
: ffnery- Therefore, S43.54 must be spent
! for beets to make one ton of sugar
100 per cent pure. The cost of manu-
Z facture, excluding interest on capital,
/ amounts to about 1921 per ton of
sugar. After refining expenses are
! paid, excluding interest on capital q.
ton of sugar 100 per cent pure costs
( in Italy about S62.62 or nearly 5 cents
a, pound, not including the government
tax on production, which is 6 cents per
pound.
The various sugar beets cultivated at
present in Italy are grown from Sc
! lected Imported seeds, although results
obtained are not entirely satisfactory
Italy stands in great need of native
seed. The damages resulting from the
importation Of seed amounts to from
three to four grades less in richness
+ of sugar. Italy imports annually about
/ $S,647,700 worth of seed of all kinds 1t
often happens that the imported seed
I is Of inferior quality. The italian de-
mand for seed can not at all times be
supplied by foreign seed exporters, and
In such cases the seed is collected i'm
mature and sent in that condition to
Italy.
CoMBINATIoN OF REFINERIEs
! The Unione zuccheri, with main
Offices in Milan, is an organization of
Italian reflneries to control production
The union establishes the quantity Of
sugar that each refinery may produce
/ In any given year. Every Italian re-
( inerE. except one. is q member of the
union There are 81 rehneries in italy
today, and the construction of the
thirty fifth was started about six
months ago. The union determines the
selling price of sugar in Italy. which
has always to be lower than that for
which imported sugar could be sold
The union forms what is believed in
I, Italy to be the best way to carry on
/ the industry with success. 1t does not
+ speculate. nor can 1t create special and
abnormal prices on the italian market
/ BY its aid it is next to impossible to
4 turn out an overproduction. such as,
! happening often. would mean the down
/ fall of the industry. There is about
/ 100000 invested in this Italian in
dustry at present.--From Consular Re-
ports.
After Is years of labor Professor