16. SUGAR INDUSTRY IN LATIN AMERICA. The cane sugar production of the world for the past few years has averaged ap proximately 10,280,000 tons or 22,670,400,000 pounds. Of this quantity the countries of Latin including ncluding any foreign posses sions in America — produce about 4,138,000 tons or 9,124,290,000 pounds, which is equivalent to more than 40 per cent of the world's total crop of cane sugar. The following tabular statement fairly represents the cane crops of the countries named (in tons): Cuba 3.000,000 Mexico 89,000 Argentina 336,000 Central America.. 35,000 Peru 263,000 Venezuela 20,000 Brazil • 240.000 Paraguay 2.821 Dominican Repub- Colombia 1.667 tic 150,000 The United States, the largest consumer of sugar per capita of all other countries, in 1915 16 imported from all sources 2,455,366 tons or 5,414,081,941 pounds of cane sugar, and of this quantity 2,451,329 tons or pounds were imported from Latin America, leaving only 4,037 tons or 8,901,585 pounds brought in from all other countries. Our imports from Latin America increased from 1,963,485 tons in 1912-13 to 2,451,329 tons in 1915-16, or 25 per cent.
The republic of Cuba is now the largest cane-sugar-producing country in the world. For a long time it ranked next to British India, but since the establishment of the republic it has risen to the first rank. These two countries together furnish'approximately one-half of the world's supply of cane sugar, each producing from two 'to more than three million tons.
Climatic conditions and the soil of Cuba are so well adapted to the growing of sugar cane that nearly one-half of the tillable area of the island is devoted to this crop. The cane ma tures in from 12 to 18 months, but the crop is so planted that it is harvested more or less throughout the year, though the principal har vest season is from December to June. The lands in the western provinces have been planted in cane so many years and have be come so impoverished that not more than four to seven crops can be harvested without re planting. In the newer and richer lands of the eastern provinces 10 or 12 crops and some times twice as many may be harvested without replanting. Recent statistics show- that the yield of sugar per acre was 4,900 pounds har vested from 1,384,812 acres. The Cuban sugar factories have been greatly improved within the past few years. Keen competition has forced Cuba to adopt more economical methods in the manufacture of sugar, and this has re sulted in an almost constant decline in the number of factories, but an increase in their size and capacity. Some years ago there were 473 factories, but now there are only 190 to 200. The plantations are equipped with pri vate railway lines to transport the cane from the fields to the factories. There are approx imately 3,000 miles of these railways.
Recent statistics show that of the total area under cane about 56 per cent was either culti vated or controlled by the factory owners, while 44 per cent was cultivated by independent farmers who sold their cane to the factories.
As an incentive to produce high grade cane it is paid for according to the sugar content and not the gross weight. During•the 10 years ending with 1912-13 there was an average of 175 factories in operation, which ground an average of 15,925,000 tons of cane annually and produced 1,687,000 tons of sugar, or 3,778,880, 000 pounds annually. The production since 1912-13 in tons is as follows: 1916-17, 3,000,000 tons; 1915-16, 3,007,915 tons; 1914-15, 2,592,667 tons; 1913-14, 2,597,732 tons. The greater por tion of the Cuban crop of sugar is exported, the average the past 20 years being about 95 per cent, of which the United States has taken about 90 per cent. In 1913 the United. States took 2,129,748 tons, valued at $107,975,360, and 2,164,621 tons valued at $116,479,869 in 1914. Great Britain took 240,870 tons, valued at $12, 598,817, in 1913, and 231,541 tons, valued at $10,910,416, in 1914. The total exports in those years were 2,411,188 tons, valued at $122,388,062, in 1913, and 2,454,334 tons, valued at $130,413, 769, in 1914. In 1915 the United States im ported 2,136,110 long tons of sugar from Cuba, and 2,299,488 long tons in 1916. The following values of the sugar crops since 1910 will serve to indicate the remarkable growth of this in as well as how prosperity has come to Cuba in recent years: 1911-12 8121,468,000 1914-15 8205.000.000 1912-13 115,395,000 1915-16 250,000,000 1913-14 130,424,000 1916-17. 246,000,000 Dominican Republic.— The sugar planta tions of the republic are located on the south ern coast. In the adjoining hinterland are many of the most important sugar centres of the island, namely, Angelina, Consuelo, Porvenir, Cristobal, Colon, Santa Fe and Quisqueya, and the value of the sugar exported through the chief sugar port, San Pedro de Macoris, in 1915 amounted to over $3,000,000.
The sugar land extends along the coast, and going westward in the vicinity of the city of Santo Domingo are to be found the centrals Italia, San Isidro and San Louis, and toward the western border of the republic in the Azua and Barahona district Azana, Ocoa and An sonia estates. Nearly all of these sugar estates have prospered greatly in recent years. The sugar acreage is increasing annually and new centrals are in process of construction.
The soil is well adapted for sugar cultiva tion and produces on an average 25 years of ratoon crops with an output of 70 tons of cane per acre from virgin land during the first year. The sugar season extends from December to June or July. The local labor supply is lim ited, and in normal times is increased by im portations from the nearby British West Indies.
The estimates in tons of the sugar crops of the three seasons, 1914 to 1917, are as follows: