The Hawaiian gazette., 1918-01-04
COSTS
mount UPRAP|D[Y
|. DURING WAR TIMES
Six Cent Sugar Today No Better
Than -Four Cent Sugar In L
Days Before Big War
INCREASED EXPENSES (
+ FOUND UPON ALL SIDES
Forty-five Dollars a Ton Greater
Cost Of Marketing Is Con-
sidered Conservative

sidered Conservative
six cent sugar is not nearly so big
Ms IL sounds owing to the largely In
creased cost OF production since the
great war started and especially since
the United States became a belligerent.
This the various plantation companies
see very clearly. q s" ~
Further increase in the cost Of pro-
ducing aud shipping sugar come as a
result of announcements made this
week of an increased freight upon
sugar bags. This increase is $65 a ton
on the bags and almost trebles the for
mer freight rate. But the cost Of bags
in Calcutta has also been raised SO that
the actual increase in cost Is consider
ably greater and on the new cost and
new freight basis the bags win cost
the plantations here not less than 26A
cents each. On May 81 last the cost
was I3.43 cents each 50 that in little
more than six months this expense has
been about doubled. Before the war
the cost was about eight cents so that
for this particular necessity the cost
has increased more than three times
over. .'-.l G - ..' e. =.
1t has been said that six cent sugar
now is no better than was four to Az
cent sugar before the war and figures
to show this are easily obtained from
almost any of the plantations. Pro.
duction costs have Increased at least
$40 ton, Il Is claimed, over the pre-
war costs In getting at such increases,
the following fgures have been given,
| 10 The Advertiser.
How Costs increase
Returning 20 the increased cost of
bags for the packing Of the sugar for
shipment II is found that $3.50 ton
has been added, sone of the smaller
additions to costs that has come.
| II Is estimated that the seventy
eight percent bonus paid last year
added a cost Of $50 ton to produc.
tion. During the coming year the bonus
viii not be so large under the new
rates arranged and announced by the
Planters Association but they will add
a cost of $15 ton at least making an
increase upon preywar figures for these
two items of $3.50. tF
,Ea,.;,;v.r i. ~ ;,nno,t.nt matter ~
~ v'rsa,,ear 80 81 80 n ~ !, here moro
49, 49, s.hs,a ;t;s = naeass;tv The
israa ';ne,aass In 80 costs aJds All a
.s..E q shasaos. - rs,d 49,, s,,oar J"
~ Frstohts ~ San Fysncsce have been
..i.aa &c., 81 ~ ~ I - ana ~ tSe
Eastern markets by water to ais but
little sugar is expected to 60 by water
and almost all overland. The railfoad
and steamship freight for this routing
is expected 10 be about 81 ton. As
suming a +" fifty fifty" shipping Of
sugar to CroelSett and to the East and
adding to the 81 rate twenty.one cents
and to the $22 rate sixty;six cents for
Lthe4bi of .lading tax, and dividing By
two the figure &l4.03 Is obtained while
a similar method Of fguripg the old
shown an increase in freights of $9,lS.
For the four items the increase in
costs il found to,be $8S.3S and it lis
very conservative to say that the m
crease in the costs of everything the
plantation requires has added more than
u .62 TO these costs. There y shown
the increase Of 90 ton, put II is
claimed the increase viii be found
nearer $50 than 40.
Such ipcreases are, however, over the
pre-war costs and are not over the
sn9m eynpaliso on oi ~ ~. su e :
touay WIN iour een' susa' 1'io'o VIZ
IL. ~. It'd
Last Year ana rms -