The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-08-21
AMERICA STANDS
 HIGH IN SUGAR BEET PRODUCING

The United States will this year take second rank amoung the na- tions as a producer of beet sugar. While this new and greatly advanc- ed rank that we hold is in part result of the political encouragement of the best sugar producing areas of Europe coupled with a marked fall off in production of beet sugar in that continent, it at least is interest ing and at the same time iIlustra- tive of the wonderful growth of beet sugar production in the United States.
 At the beginning of the war, ac- cording to a statement by the Ma tional City Bank of New York, the United States held only fifth rank among the beet sugar producing countries of the world and in fact produced but about 8 per cent. of the beet sugar of the world. The marked fall off in the European product coupled with the slight increase in our own brought our share of the worlds beet sugar production to about 16 per cent. last year with a prospect that the crop of the cur rent year will be larger than that of last year and form a slightly larger percentage of the worlds total out put.
 Latest estimates by sugar authori- ties indicate that our crop in the current year will be larger than that of last year but may fall slightly below that of the high record of 1916, the figures of the current year being based upon estimates obtained from the editors or two accepted su- gar authorities, the Weekly Stat istical Sugar Trade Journal and Facts about Sugar."
 While this new rank which the United States holds among the su- gar producers of the world is due in part to increased production or our part and the decreased produc- ton in Europe, 1t is all due in part to the recent events which have es- tablished new political divisions within the beet sugar aDeas of Europe Prior to the war, Germany held first rank as a beet sugar producer Austria Hungary second, Russia third, France fourth, and the United States fifth. As a considerable par | of the production of Austria-Hun gary occurred in the section now designated as CZecho-Slovakia and { considerable proportion of that O. Russia occurred in the areas nov | known as Ukraine and Poland. tht rank of European production b. | political divisions has been entirel, disarranged and 1t seems probable tha | no one. of the European countries except Germany will this year pro duce as much beet sugar as does tn, l United States Latest estimates pu l the production of Germany abou ! 1,40e,000 tons, while that of Czecho Slovalia. Ukraine and Poland will ap parently fall materially below tha | of the United States.
 | Our beet sugar production in tn current year seems likely to be abou 1,750, 0,0o0,0O0 pounds against 1885, 000,o00 in the year before the war 1,025, 100000 in 1910, 484,o00,0O0 il 1905, 163,OOO, GOO in 1900, 45,0OO,
 900 in 1895, and 5,0oO,OoO in 1890 The cane and sugar crop, which is un
 usually low. seems likely to form les than one-fifth of the total output o the country.
 Sugar beets, according to the Bank statement, now produce only abou
 25 per cent. of the sugar supply o the world as against 50 Der cent | in 1911, and 65 per cent. in 1900 and 1897. Normally, beets suppl
 about one-half of the sugar of tn
 world, their large percentage in 19o and the years immediately preced | ing being due to the very smal production of cane sugar in Cub 1 during and immediately fol1owin
 her war with Spain. With the re
 turn to normal production of can
 sugar in Cuba, the share which beet | were producing of the worlds sup ply dropped from 65 per cent. to 5
 per cent. in 1911 and 1913, Al pc cent. in 1914, A per cent. in 1915
 35 per cent. in 1916, 33 per cen in 1917, 26 per cent in 1918, an
 is estimated at about 25 per cent. i
 1919, this change being due in par
 to the fall off of beet sugar produc ton in Europe and in part to the in creased production of cane sugar i
 Cuba, Porto Rico, Hawaii, the Philip lpine Islands and Java
 The worlds production of suga
 in the current crop year will proh
 ably be about 37,000,o0O, 900 pound
 against 42,0O0,0oO,0O0 in 1914, an
 the share produced from beets abou
 p per cent. as against 47 per cen
 in 1914.