, 1921-11-14
BEET SUGAR COMING BACK

The sugar beet is slowly coming back to its proper
share in world sugar production. Twenty years ago
il was producing two-thirds Of the sugar of the world,
the percentage Of world sugar output supplied by
beets having ranged from 62 per cent to sc per cent
during the period 1s97-1902, though this was during
a period in which Cuba's cane sugar production was
unusually low. Normally, the beet supplied just about
one-half Of the worlds production, down to about the
beginning OF the great European war. Then with the
reduction in the European crop-for Europe was the
worlds chief beet sugar producer in pre-war days
the share which the beet supplied of the worlds sugar
fell from 4e per cent in 1918 to 20 per cent in 1918
and % per cent in 1890. In that low record year,
1920, Europe's outurn of beet sugar had fallen, &C
cording to Willett & Gray, the well known sugar sta
tisticians, to 2,594, 1000 tons as against S,341,000 in
the sugar year 1878. In the sugar year 1s2o-21
the United States, which had been producing about
$4,000 tons of beet sugar per annum, suddenly in
creased its outturn to 96e, 900 tons, while Europe also
increased its outturn of the beet product to 3~,719,000
tons, bringing the share which beet sugar formed of
the world total output in 1920-21 up to 2S per cent,
while for the crop year 1921-22 the authorities above
named estimate the beet sugar crop at about 81 per
cent of the total sugar output of the world.
Cuba, of course, has played a very important part
in supplying the shortage of world sugar which would
otherwise have occurred as a result Of the fall off in
the outturn of European beet sugar-for practically
all of the sugar produced in Europe is from beets.
Cuba's %outturn, exclusively cane sugar, advanced dur
ing the European shortage from 2,429, 900 tons in the
crop year 1928 to 1871, 900 in 191S-19, and 81
geo, 1000 in 1920-21, and is estimated by the above
quoted sugar authorities at about 5000, 900 tons for
the crop year 1921-22. Their estimate of the worlds
total sugar output Tor the crop year 1g21-22 is 15,-
100000 tons against 1s,T73.ooO in the sugar year
1924, which was the high record year CT world
sugar production. This estimate, if justified by fu-
ture developments, would put the outturn of the cur
rent crop year at about IT per cent below the worlds
high record, that of the crop year 1914.
One especially interesting fact, in this c~onsidera-
tion of world sugar production for the current year
comes to the surface at this moment in the latest re-
port of the Department of Commerce which shows
that the average import price of raw sugar entering
the United States in September, 1921, was but 2.92
cents per pound against Is cents per pound in the
same month of last year, the average import price of
raw sugar entering our ports in September of the cur
rent year having been, according to the Department of
Commerce figures, less than in any month since jan
uary, 1915, when the average import prices was 2.83
cents.
The outturn Of sugar under the American flag in
the crop year 1922 is estimated by the above au-
thorities at 1~,971,000 tons, out of the world estimated
total of $780, 900, our beet output being estimated
Texas being 291 900 tons, that of the Hawaiian
Islands 45o, 600, Porto Rico 415,o0o, and the Virgin
Islands 8, 1000, making the estimated outturn under the
American flag in 1921-22 approximately 12h per cent
of the worlds total.
The principal world producers of sugar in the cror
year 1922, according 20 the estimates of the au,
thorities above named, will be: Cuba 5000, 900 tons
India 1900 900, Java 500, 900, Germany 1880, 600
continental United States 100000, Czecho-Slovaki
5s5, 600, the Hawaiian Islands 450, 900, Formosa anC
Japan 425, 900 and Porto Rico 415,00O tons. TIL,
production of Cuba, India, Java, the Hawaiian Islands
Porto Rico and Formosa is from cane, that of Ger
many and all Europe in fact is from beets, and Of thu
100, 900 tons estimated for the United States 900,
600 are from beets. Europeis total for 1921 is est
mated at 1913, 900 tons against 1884, 900 in her 10y
record year, and s~,S41,ooo in the crop year 1912-19.