THE BOOM IN RUBBER.

West Coast Times, 23 March 1910, Page 2

THE BOOM IN RUBBER.

The ‘ cablegram published in this issue recalls to mind that the supply of rubber for the world’s markets is slowly but surely reaching a time when some provision will have to be made to open up new areas of land for the growing of the rubber tree. Outside the forests of South America and the Congo ,the main rubber plantations are in the Malay Peninsula and Ceylon. Next in importance, but some distance behind, are plantations in the Dutch East Indies, while a start has been made in North Queensland, Papua, and some of the Pacific Islands, particularly Samoa. Rubber will pay liandsomelV to grow when the price is as low as 2s a pound- Statistics annually issued by the fil m of Hech show the rapid growth in the use of the commodity. For the year ended June, 1909, the statistics, as published by the Franfurter Zeitung reveal that the

harvest of Para sorts amounted to over 38,075 tons, as compared with 36,680 tons in 1907-8, being an increase of 1395 tons. On the other hand, the consumption reached 38,249 tons and 33,047 tons in the two years respectively, or an advance of 5202 tons for 1908-9. The visible stocks declined from 4465 tons in 1907-08 to 2082 tons in 1908-09. The total production of rubber throughout the world, including the above figures for Para qualities is returned at 70,587 tons in 1908-09, against 66,379 tons in the preceding year, or an increase of 4208 tons, whilst the world’s consumption totalled 71,989 tons, as against 62,376 tons in 1907-08, being an Increase of 9613 tons. The deliveries in Europe In Europe in 1908-09 amounted to 38,546 tons in excess of 1907-08. The veil need arrivals in Europe were simultaneous with a lightening of the stocks by 2706 tons, whereas stocks in the United States only diminished by 101 tons in the same year. The stocks on the former continent are returned at 2944 tons, and in the United States at 810 tons, the world’s stocks being stated to he 5024 tons. The statistics further show that the price of fine Para declined from 4s lid . in July, 1907, to 2s 9d in February, j 1908. Fluctuations up to 3s lid took | place until the end of June in that year, and from that time to the close ' of June, 1909, a sharp upward move- ’ ment to 6s 3d occurred and by the end of July the price had advanced to 8s 3d.