La Guayraabout 8,000 tons.Puerto Cabelloabout 3,000 tons.Carupanoabout 4,500 tons.Maracabio and via Trinidadabout 500 tons.
C. The Antilles.
Trinidad produces a cacao which on many plantations, or estates, as they are called, receives preparation at the hands of experts, and is very highly esteemed in commerce, and especially in England and France. The best and generally slightly coloured sorts are specified as “Plantation”, the medium “Estates”, after the English name, and the inferior “Fair Trinidad shipping cacao The bean “Trinidad criollo” is oval, yet not so rounded as the Venezuelan; its kernel is for the most part dark-coloured, still brown in the better varieties, but inky black among the inferior. It is customary in Trinidad to trade the cacaos as prime specimens and to assign to them the name of a species which not infrequently furnishes no true indication of their origin. “Soconusco” and “San Antonio” are particularly high-sounding; mention can further be made of “Montserrat”, “La Gloria”, “Maraval”, “Belle Fleur”, “El Reposo” etc. Chief harvest, December to February inclusive, by-harvest May to August.
The total export from Trinidad amounts to about 22,500 tons yearly. The substantially smaller island of Grenada, also British, contributes about 6,000 tons a year to the world’s supply. Owing to the prevalence of like climatic and geological conditions, the yield and quality are here the same as on the neighbouring island of Trinidad. The chief consumer of the Grenada cacaos is the Motherland, and the same holds good for the small British islands of St. Vincent, St. Lucia and Dominique, all of little import in the general trade of the world.
Martinique-and Guadeloupe-cacaos, hailing from the French islands so named, with a yearly production varying from 5,000 to 7,500 tons, only come into consideration for the consumption of the Motherland, which affords them an abatement of 50 percent in connection with the tariffs. San Domingo, the larger and eastern part of the Haiti island, already contributes about 20,000 tons yearly to the universal harvest. Especially in the last ten years has the cacao cultivation here received considerable expansion (yield 1894 2,000 tons, 1904 13,500 tons) and as vast suitable tracts of land are to hand, this country would justify the highest expectations, if the general political and economical relations of the double republic and a certain indolence of the planters, all small farmers, had not to be allowed for.
A methodical preparation only seldom takes place. Processes are limited to a very necessary drying, as a rule, so that the cacao, excellent in itself, takes rank among the lowest as a commercial quality. The chief gatherings occur in the months of May, June and July. The shipping ports are Puerta Plata on the north-coast, Sanchez and Sumana on the Bight of Samana, and La Romana, San Pedro de Macoris and Santo Domingo (the capital) on the south coast. Tiny Samana, situated on a small tongue of land, and so outlet for no extensive region, has given its name to Domingo cacao as a commercial sort, as from here the first shipments were dispatched.
Sanchezcacao, so named because Sanchez, where the transports come from the fruitful district of Cibao as far as La Vega, is the chief exporting harbour of the republic. From the same district, starting at Santiago, there is yet another line, this time running northwards to Puerto Plata on the coast. The cacao of this northerly province of Cibao is generally held in higher esteem than that coming from the southern harbours.
The United States, which have recently developed an interest in the land for political reasons, have been promoted to first place among its customers during the last few years; and then follow France and Germany. It can only be hoped that this influence grows, in view of the thereby doubtlessly accelerated improvements in the preparation processes. Up to the present, varieties free from blame are conspicuously rare. Uniformity as regards the weight of the sacks has not been possible, owing to the diversity of the means of transport. Districts lying along the railways, or close to the harbours, make use of 80-100 kg. sacks (about 176-220 lbs.) But where transport must be made on beasts of burden, sacks of from 65-70 kilos (143-154 lbs.) are the rule.
Haiticacao, coming from the Negro republic of the same name, is the most inferior of all commercial sorts, chiefly on account of the incredibly neglective preparation which it undergoes, for exceptions prove that the bean is capable of being developed into a very serviceable cacao. Beans covered with a thick gray coloured earthy crust, often even mixed with small pebbles and having a gritty, and where healthy, black-brown beaking kernel. The “Liberty and Equality” of the Negros and Mulattos in this corrupted republic are mirrored in its plantation system, the land being cultivated but little, and running almost wild. To effect a change in this state of affairs, that island law must first of all be abolished, whereby every stranger is prevented from acquiring landed estate in Haiti.
The yield, about 2,500 tons, is chiefly exported from Jérémic, then also from the harbours Cap Haitien, Port de Paix, Petit Goave, and Port au Prince. France and the United States are the principal customers. The neighbouring island of
Cubaalso delivers the greater part of its cacao produce to the United States, amounting to between 1,000 and 3,000 tons, a fact explained by geographical, political and freight considerations.
Thanks to its careful preparation, this bean, which resembles the Domingo in many respects, is preferred, and fetches a correspondingly higher price. The shipping port is Santiago de Cuba, situated in the south-eastern portion of the island.
Jamaica, with its yearly harvest of about 2,500 tons, principally attends to the wants of the Mother Country.
Cacao cultivation in Africa is of comparatively recent date. The plantations found on the three islands San Thomé and Principe (Portuguese), and Fernando Po (Spanish), lying in the Gulf of Guinea, are the oldest. To the first-named island may be traced much of the impulse given to cacao plantation in other African districts, so rapid has been its success here, under the energetic guidance of the skilful Portuguese planter, and the yet more effective propitious climatic influences and favourable industrial conditions.
Rare sorts are nowhere to be met with, for the Forastero bean has conquered the whole of Africa. The sorts produced are accordingly rather adapted for general consumption. St. Thomas and the Gold Coast provide a third of the world’s present-day cacao supply, and in the English colony especially, the geological and climatic conditions are of such a kind, that the
Gold Coastmight very well become to the raw cacao market of the future what the Brazilian province, San Paulo, is now to the coffee trade.
In the middle of the “Eighties”, the Swiss Missionary Society planted in the vicinity of their station, and so started the cultivation of the cacao tree now flourishing throughout the land. The first fruits came to Europe in 1891, and in 1894 already totalled 20 tons. In 1901 it was 1,000 tons, 1906 approaching 10,000 tons, and the year 1911 provided the record with about 40,000 tons. It is true that complaints were long and rightly lodged concerning the inferior quality, due to carelessness on the part of the natives in conductingthe processes of preparation. But since the year 1909, there have appeared on the market side by side with the inferior and so-called current qualities, which still retains more or less of the defects of the earlier produce, another and properly fermented cacao, in no mean quantities; it is very popular in all cacao-consuming lands, and fetches from 2 to 3 shillings per cwt. more than the current qualities. All this has been achieved through intelligent and sympathetic guidance and control of the small native planter on the government’s part, without resource to any large organised plantation system.
Accracacao, then, as the sorts of the African Gold Coast are collectively named, also promises to be the cacao of the future, if it can maintain its quantitative and qualitative excellence. There is indeed no want of soil and adequate labour strength in that province. Apart from Accra, Addah, Axim, Cape Coast Castle, Prampram, Winebah, Saltpond, Secondi must be mentioned above all. The chief harvest is from October to February.
Togo, the small German colony adjoining the British Gold Coast, has till now had only a yearly yield of 250 tons in a variety resembling Accra. The excellent beans prepared on the plantations fetch several shillings a cwt. more than Accra, whilst the deliveries of the natives rank below the current specimens of this sort. Its port is Lome.
Lagos, the British Colony bordering on Dahomey and east of the Gold Coast, is watered by the Niger and possesses cacao exporting ports in Lagos, Bonni and Old Calabar, and exports about 4,000 tons of a sort resembling Accra, but nevertheless not so well prepared and so of inferior value.
The cacao plantations of the Lagos colony,—more properly known as Southern Nigeria—lie on either side of the great Niger delta, in low lying land where the climatic and geological conditions are quite different from those in the neighbouring German possession of
Kameroon, in which country steep slopes and the narrow coastal strip at the foot of the Kameroon range, lofty mountains, perhaps 13,000 ft. high, constitute the cacao cultivating region. Consequently the same variety of seed, the Forastero, here produces a different kind of fruit. The Kameroon bean has its own peculiar characteristics; although there is some resemblance to that produced on the opposite islands of Fernando Po, Principe, and St. Thomas; and the milder sorts from the “Victoria” and “Moliwa” plantations often do duty as a substitute for the latter variety. There is no otherbean which contains so much acid as the Kameroon, and although this statement must be modified in view of improvements in recent years, the fact prevents the largest of German colonial sorts from serving as any other than a mixing variety.
Cultivation is the rule throughout Kameroon, with the exception of Doula, and the produce of the separate plantations, such as Victoria, Bibundi, and Moliwe, Bimbia, Debundscha and so forth, all of which belong to large Berlin and Hamburg companies, is influenced and differentiated by variations in the technique of preparation. There are smooth beans with blackish-brown shells, and others of a red-brown hue and shrivelled, some with traces of fruit pulp, and others again quite light-coloured, with occasional black specks resulting from a too thorough drying.
The chief gathering begins in September and ends in January. Exportation began in the year 1899 with 5 cwts. The produce in 1898 figured at 200 tons and it had in the year 1910 grown to 3,500 tons. Germany is of course the principal consumer, although England has since 1909 bought very much Kameroon cacao as St. Thomas.
Kongois a bean resembling the finer St. Thomas, but smaller and often smoky. It comes on the market via Antwerp. Up to the present French Congo has only produced a few thousand hundredweights yearly, but the Belgian Congo Free State has managed to achieve an annual output of 900 tons towards the close of the last decade; and when this country takes the Gold Coast as model, perhaps Congo cacao will one day play an important rôle in the world of commerce.
St. Thomas, the small Portuguese island lying in the Gulf of Guinea, and almost on the Equator, produces a sort which enjoys immense popularity, and especially in Germany, which traces a fourth part of its consumption back to this island. The export figures are
18892,000 tons.18946,000 tons.189911,500 tons.190418,000 tons.191038,000 tons.
These are estimates which make the Portuguese planter worthy of all respect. It is true that “Black ivory” has been utilised on a large scale, the exploiting of black labour having resulted in a boycotting of these St. Thomas sorts on the part of some English manufacturers, but less on account of harsh treatment on the plantations themselves as the manner of recruiting in Angola.
Fine Thomas is the description of those sorts which have been used in an unmixed condition owing to their indigestibility, but properly gathered and fermented. The inferior and slightly damaged cacaos picked out from these are called by the Portuguese planter “Escolas”, or assorted. Yet they do not come into commerce under this designation, being mostly used for making up sample collections which illustrate the difference between these andFine Thomas. The latter is traded through Lisbon “On Approval of Sample
All the St. Thomas cacao trade passes through Lisbon; for the tariff regulations of the Portuguese government make direct connection between the island and the consuming land practically impossible. France indeed chooses the route via Madeira, unloading and reloading, to avoid the additional duties. The cacao is at Lisbon stored in the two great Custom-houses there, and prepared for despatch to the respective lands. Fine St. Thomas is reshipped in the original sacks.
The samples are offered under various marks, either the initials of the planter or the name of a plantation. We mention a few of the best known; U. B., D. V., R. O., “M. Valle Flor”, “Boa Entrada”, “Monte Café”, “Santa Catarina”, “Pinheira”, “Agua Izé”, “Colonia Acoriana”, “Queluz”, “Gue Gue”, “Rosema”, “Pedroma”, “Monte Macaco
The beans vary, as far as shell and kernel are concerned, according to the mode of preparation on the plantations and the structure of the soil from which they spring. Many which were formerly universally esteemed are now no longer preferred because the soil in the meantime has been worked out; and many are now described under different marks. Yet particular characteristics still continue; there are mild and strong sorts, smooth and shrivelled varieties which look as though they have been washed, and others black like the Cameroon bean. All are offered as Fine Thomas, and enjoy an immense popularity.
Goodmedium Thomasis the commercial designation of those cacaos hailing from small plantations which have undergone a scarcely sufficient preparation owing to the lack of proper apparatus, and which are always interspersed with black or sham beans. In so far as these are delivered from large plantations, they generally owe their origin to overripe fruit, probably overlooked in the gathering season; or fruits bitten by the rats which infest this island may also contribute such beans. Almost all these inferior cacaos are sorted in the Lisbon custom-houses, and thinned down to the quality “Medium Thomas” free from objection or “Good Medium Thomas The twomonths of the Summer harvest, July and August, supply a somewhat better variety of cacao, known in commerce as “Pajol”, i. e. literally, “Hailing from the country”, which generally fetches a rather higher price. During the Winter harvest from November to February the medium St. Thomas varieties come on the market, but not before the beginning of the year, as previous to that point of time only the regular harvest ofFine St. Thomascomes into consideration. All attempts on the part of consumers to effect an improvement in the quality of the medium varieties have unfortunately hitherto proved abortive, for they are regarded as by-produce on the larger estates, and the small ones do not possess the apparatus necessary for a thorough preparation. Then again it is seen that these inferior sorts are taken off the market at very reasonable prices.
Fernando Po, a mountainous island, situated immediately off Cameroon, may be regarded as a source of supply for the Motherland, Spain, and only as such, for its yearly output of 2500 tons need fear no competition, thanks to the excessive tariffs laid on the produce of other lands here. The qualities here are inferior to those from St. Thomas and Cameroon, chiefly because most plantation are in the hands of blacks and consequently not well managed.
German East Africa,Madagascar,Mayotta(Comoren) andRéunionwith their dwarfish yield are only worthy of passing mention.
The only cacao plantations deserving the name on the continent of Asia are those occurring on the two islands of Ceylon and Java, both producing a sort differing entirely from the Africans, the predominant seedling here planted being the Trinidad-Criollo. The Ceylon-Java bean is, like the genuine Criollo, oval shaped, inclining to a sphere; its kernel is light brown and among the finer sorts even whitish. So both varieties are principally used for colouring and covering the cacao mass, for neither has a very pronounced flavour. The shell is light brown or reddish brown after washing, and appears free from all traces of pulp. It sits loosely on the kernel, at least in the case of the Java bean, and is consequently often met with broken.
Ceylon, with the shipping port of Colombo, produces in a good year from 3,500 to 4,000 tons, about two-thirds of which are traded through London. Direct shipments to Germany have recentlybeen more and more frequent; Australia also claims consideration as a consuming land.
The different sorts, or rather, qualities, for a very careful preparation ensures the excellence of the goods, go under the description fine, or medium, or ordinary, and occasionally are utilised as typical examples. The better sorts come exclusively from plantations, and the ordinary are the result of native enterprise.
Javaalso produces a large quantity, the cacao here being chiefly planted on the north side of this long, narrow island. More than a half is exported from the port of Samarang, then follow Batavia, Soerabaja and a few minor places, with a total output of about 2,500 tons. The larger proportion of this cacao is sold in the markets of Amsterdam and Rotterdam to Dutch merchants, who pass it on to other consuming countries. England, North America, Australia, China and the Philippines are the chief customers.
Those sorts coming from the neighbouring islands of Celebes, Timor, Bali, Amboina and Lombok may also be considered as sub-classes of the Java; but they do not total more than 75 tons.
Cacao plantation in Australia is still in its early stages. Most progressive is
Samoa, which has increased its 1900 export of 30 cwt. to 200 tons at the present time, among which right excellent qualities occur, culled from Criollo trees. The deteriorated Forastero has also recently been planted, which we must allow to be more fruitful and less dependent on careful nursing. The Samoa Criollo bean resembles the large fine Ceylon variety, except that it has a more pronounced flavour.
New Guinea and Bismarck-Archipelagoescan only claim casual mention as experimentally interested in cacao cultivation.
Although cacao and cacao products have always been held in the highest esteem, ever since they first became known in Europe, yet price considerations long prevented them from enjoying the same widespread popularity among the lower classes as tea and coffee. Thanks, however, to the improved means of transport established inthe course of the last fifty years, which has cheapened all exotic produce, the demand for these wares has of late been more frequent and urgent, and is reflected in the constantly increasing influx of cacao on the European markets and the systematic opening out of new regions to the raw material, just as corresponding extensions in the factory world contribute towards a reduction in the cost of the products. Hence cacao may now be described as a luxury within the reach of everyman. Its diffusion among all grades of the population may be regarded as a great blessing, for in it has arisen a new [Transcriber’s Note: a line is missing here] merely a stimulant, like tea or coffee, but a beverage in the proper sense of the term, analytically so established.
It will accordingly prove of interest to glance through the returns in connection with the trade in these goods, their importation and exportation, commercial values of the same, and the relative consumption of cacao, tea and coffee.
Such figures are always at hand. The surprisingly rapid growth of the cacao cultivation, and the manufacture of cacao products, is e. g. at once apparent in statistics furnished by the French government. In 1857 the number of 5,304,207 kilos of beans were consumed there. The importations of the year 1895, on the other hand, amounted to 32,814,724 kilos, having in the space of 38 years increased more than sixfold. Of this quantity, almost the half, comprising about 15,234,163 kilos, is disposed of retail.
Turning to the trade in Germany, the cacao industry here and its consumption,19we are again greeted with cheery prospects. According to the official inquiry, German trade in Cacao products for the years 1907-1910 is shown in the following table:
Table1.
No. on offic. statisticsDescriptionImports to GermanyExports from GermanyDuty Freeinclusive19071908190919101910190719081909191063Cacao Bean raw345154343519407248439413—139011861429162064Cacao Shell whole55166—1280299011182517006168Cacao Butter Cacao Oil2431062082632222320804184942729122465203aCacao Mass, Ground Cacao shells1651196128581253430351936945219203bCacao Powder679281486497644625993050175228033755204aChocolate & Chocolate Equivalents1163610050121971518315135021367146094712204bProducts from Cacao Mass, Cacao Powder, Chocolate and Chocolate Equivalents, Acorn, and Oat cacaos123912811258114020274260443945554964
The year 1910 brought a total import of 878,413 cwts. of raw cacao, thus overtopping the figures of the previous year, which had created a record with 814,496 cwts., by 64,330 cwts.
Coming to the geographical distribution, we find that they were imported into Germany in the following proportions, namely:
19101909Comparisonwithprevious yearsBritish West Africacwts.206 180189 686+ 6 494Port. West Africa (St. Thomas etc.)"239 756181 230+58 526Brazil (Bahia)"128 760137 396- 8 636Ecuador (Guayaquil)"97 454101 038- 3 584Dominican Republic (Samana)"64 93266 210- 1 278The Rest of British America"21 26640 658- 5 08Venezuela"40 06836 002-44 26Cameroon"20 42622 026- 1 420Ceylon"15 89212 488- 3 402East Indies (Dutch)"8 8026 772- 2 030Cuba"2 6103 066- 456Haiti"3 6762 614- 1 562Samoa"3 2162 230- 314Togo"564250- 314
These figures, which we quote from the Thirty First Year’s Report of the Association of German Chocolate Makers, speak volumes for the recent development of the cacao trade. It is interesting, in view of recent occurrences, to note the quantities despatched from the various places. The importations from St. Thomas, for instance, show a striking increase. They stand at the head of the raw cacao products coming into Germany, with 239,756 cwts., and have pushed Accras down to second place, this variety having failed to maintain its 1909 lead, for 1910 did not add more than 6,496 cwts. to its previous total of 199,686 cwts. Bahias came third, then as now, with 128,760 cwts. This order has not always remained constant, but has suffered considerable deviations in progressive years. We give below a table showing the chief cacao producing lands and their imports into Germany between 1900 and 1908.
Table2.Imports in Germany in tons.
190019011902190319041905190619071908Brit. West Africa Gold Coast (Accra)————559·1935·21580·92775·94045·96009·25752·5Portuguese West Africa (St. Thomas)2501·63116·04069·23878·84526·64259·34969·65559·97303·8Brazil (Bahia)3776·83239·03125·52599·84130·44506·46106·16937·26233·7Ecuador (Guaquil)5397·94744·84728·65092·75689·85350·34693·64245·04123·6Dominican Republic (Samana)586·11853·02448·83116·04562·44514·15663·84037·44574·3Rest of British North America1436·91195·61544·71292·31851·52009·02503·62293·22083·7Venezuela (Caracas)1158·5956·6893·2829·41280·31380·91685·92365·01435·6Cameroon——190·9361·5470·7647·5839·41199·01240·31397·7Ceylon——107·4344·9350·1497·7589·3588·0788·0604·7East Indies (Dutch)——————————————333·4347·2Cuba——299·8345·3144·7189·0195·6——331·4120·6Samoa——————101·3203·8140·0——52·9124·2Columbia——112·6104·352·6——————75·266·7Togo————————3·76·0——15·018·6via The Netherlands122·1363·9357·660·9——————————via Portugal (probably Thomas)988·11311·41349·12447·71734·92853·42714·9103·3——Haiti1796·0340·4In conse-quence of tariff struggle————————————
The consumption of cacao in other civilised countries shows a corresponding increase, although with occasional divergencies and astounding relapses. We give the following table (3) to indicate its progress between the years 1901 and 1908, and to facilitate comparison.
It must be borne in mind, when making use of this table (specially in connection with Germany) that the falling off in the years 1907-8 is to be attributed to the abnormally bad harvests and consequent increase in prices.
Table3.Import or Consumption in the Various Lands in tons.
1901190219031904The United Statesof North America2066595·82312072·82850808·23216415·6Germany1841000·02060170·02163440·02710140·0France1791650·01934300·02074150·02179450·0England1890800·02038600·01868119·22054250·4Holland1437300·01466627·41073047·41218440·0Spain593107·7925997·6602675·2581635·9Switzerland436330·0570700·0585650·0683910·0Belgium186548·7227763·3276779·1279200·8Austria-Hungary168650·0182010·0203460·0251010·0Russia——190068·0205570·01901190219031904The United Statesof North America3523164·53794857·53752650·54261529·3Germany2963310·03526050·03451540·03435190·0France2174760·02340380·02318030·02044450·0England2119071·22013204·02015947·22105152·0Holland1073740·01122400·01221924·91582100·0Spain610171·2563682·1562823·9658011·3Switzerland521840·0646690·0712420·0582050·0Belgium301899·7386168·6325396·7455408·1Austria-Hungary266850·0331280·0347170·0370730·0Russia222768·0267094·0247338·0258806·0
The relative consumption of coffee, tea and cacao has also inclined in favour of the latter as far as Germany is concerned. According to the 19th. Report of the Association of German ChocolateMakers, No. 7, the imports which passed through the custom-houses of that country, and intended for consumption, figured at the following in tons; though in this connection it is as well to remember that the German ton is about 50 lbs. less than the English.
CoffeeCacaoTea(raw in bean)(raw in bean)188612 360·53 686·71618·51887101 833·44 295·01760·01888114 658·14 979·81778·41889113 228·55 565·11875·01890118 126·36 246·51995·01891125 611·27 087·02221·01892122 031·97 460·92479·01893122 190·57 960·92676·01894122 357·58 319·92840·01895122 390·29 950·92544·01896129 896·612 209·52471·01897136 395·014 692·52852·01898153 270·415 464·93661·9
From the above columns it will be seen that the importation of coffee has only increased 24 percent, that of tea 125 percent, but that of cacao at the surprising rate of 330 percent. A comparison of the totals for coffee, tea and cacao in the years 1886, 1898 & 1906 will make the proportions still more evident.
188618981906Coffee96·0%89·0%82·6%Cacao2·8%8·9%15·6%Tea1·2%2·1%1·8%Total100·0%100·0%100·0%
So that whilst in the year 1886 thirty-five times as much coffee as cacao found its way into Germany, the imports for 1898 were ten, and in 1906 only five and a half times greater in the case of the first named article. It follows that there has been a corresponding increase as regards cacao consumption in Germany. A momentary survey of the graphs in Fig. 5, which we owe to the kindness of Herr Greiert, Managing Director of the Association of German Chocolate Manufacturers, will make this clear to the reader; and the diagram there illustrates the relative growth of cacao consumption in Germany, when compared with other countries. On calculating the quantity of cacao consumed per head of the population, we get a graph (fig. 6) which puts the rapid increases in this direction at a glance.
Fig. 5. (the german text ishere).
Fig. 5. (the german text ishere).
Fig. 6. Graphical representation per head of the population for the last 75 years.
Fig. 6. Graphical representation per head of the population for the last 75 years.
The curve for the last ten years represents enormous advances, and contrasts with the more even line developed in earlier years. According to official reports, the average consumption of cacao per head between the years 1861-5 amounted to 0·03 kg. (tea 0·02 kg. and coffee 1·87 kg.) but had in 1910 risen to an average of 0·53 kg. per head.