All about coffee by William H. Ukers
1723. Seven years later, 472,000 pounds were shipped; and in 1732-33
5423 words | Chapter 111
exportation reached 1,232,000 pounds. Exports were averaging 16,900,000
pounds a year by 1760; and reached almost 20,600,000 pounds in 1777. At
the beginning of the nineteenth century, they amounted to about
17,000,000 pounds; but a few years later fell off to some 7,000,000
pounds, where they remained until about 1840; after which they began
again to decline. Exportation had practically ceased by 1875, only 1,420
pounds going out of the country, although cultivation still continued,
as evidenced by a production of 82,357 pounds in that year. In 1890,
production was only 15,736 pounds, and exports only 476 pounds; but
since then there has been a considerable increase. In 1900, production
amounted to 433,000 pounds, and exports to 424,000 pounds. In 1908,
1,108,000 pounds were grown, of which 310,000 pounds were sent abroad;
and in 1909, the figures were 552,000 pounds produced and 405,000 pounds
exported. No figures are available for production in recent years; but
the exportation of 1,600,000 pounds in 1917 indicates that plantings
have been steadily growing.
OTHER SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES. Of the other South American countries,
Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay are coffee-importing countries; and the
coffee-raising industry of Paraguay, although more or less promising,
has yet to be developed. In Argentina, a few hundred acres in the
sub-tropical provinces of the north have been planted to coffee; but
coffee-growing will always necessarily remain a very minor industry.
Many attempts have been made to establish the industry in Paraguay,
where favorable conditions obtain, but only a few planters have met with
success. Their product has all been consumed locally. Bolivia has much
land suitable for coffee raising; and it is estimated that production
has reached as high as 1,500,000 pounds a year, but transportation
conditions are such as to hold back development for an indefinite time.
Small amounts are now exported to Chile.
SALVADOR. Coffee was introduced into Salvador in 1852, and immediately
began to spread over the country. Exports were valued at more than
$100,000 in 1865; and by 1874-75 the amount exported had reached
8,500,000 pounds. The first large plantation was established in 1876;
and since then planting has continued, until now practically all the
available coffee land has been taken up. The area in plantations has
been estimated at 166,000 acres, and the annual production at 50,000,000
to 75,000,000 pounds, of which some 5,000,000 pounds are consumed in the
country. Since the beginning of the present century, exports have in
general shown a considerable increase, the figures for 1901 being
50,101,000 pounds; for 1905, 64,480,000 pounds; for 1910, 62,764,000
pounds; for 1915, 67,130,000 pounds; and for 1920, 82,864,000 pounds.
GUATEMALA. Cultivation of coffee in Guatamala became of importance
between 1860 and 1870. In 1860, exports were only about 140,000 pounds;
by 1863, they had increased to about 1,800,000 pounds; and by 1870, to
7,590,000 pounds. In 1880-81, they amounted to 28,976,000 pounds; and in
1883-84, to 40,406,000 pounds. Twenty years later, they had doubled. In
recent years, exports have ranged between 75,000,000 and 100,000,000
pounds; the years from 1909 to 1918 showing the following results,
according to a consular report:
GUATEMALA'S COFFEE EXPORTS
_Cleaned_ _Unshelled_
_Year_ (pounds) (pounds)
1900 92,639,800 23,654,600
1910 50,717,600 19,671,700
1911 60,689,500 20,959,500
1912 14,329,800 60,837,500
1913 70,749,100 20,980,700
1914 71,136,800 14,999,600
1915 69,649,500 9,892,000
1916 85,057,000 3,015,800
1917 89,259,600 1,410,200
1918 77,842,800 511,500
COSTA RICA. Coffee raising in Costa Rica dates from 1779, when the plant
was introduced from Cuba. By 1845, the industry had grown sufficiently
to permit an exportation of 7,823,000 pounds; and twenty years later,
11,143,000 pounds were shipped. Thereafter, production increased
rapidly; so that in 1874, the total exports were 32,670,000 pounds, and
in 1884 they were more than 36,000,000 pounds. In recent years, the
average production has been around 35,000,000 pounds. For the crop years
1916-17 to 1920-21 exports have been:
COSTA RICA'S COFFEE EXPORTS
_Year_ _Pounds_
1916-17 27,044,550
1917-18 25,246,715
1918-19 30,784,184
1919-20 30,860,634
1920-21 29,401,683
NICARAGUA. Production of coffee in Nicaragua began between 1860 and
1870; and in 1875, the yield was estimated at 1,650,000 pounds. By
1879-80, this had increased to 3,579,000 pounds; and by 1889-90, to
8,533,000 pounds. In 1890-91 production was 11,540,000 pounds; and in
1907-08 it was estimated at more than 20,000,000 pounds. Ten years
later, 25,000,000 pounds were produced; and the crop of 1918-19 was
estimated at about 30,000,000 pounds. Lack of transportation, and excess
of political troubles, have been important factors in holding back
development.
HONDURAS. The coffee of Honduras is of very good quality; but production
is small, and the country is not an important factor in international
trade. Exports usually run less than 1,000,000 pounds. The chief
obstacle to expansion is said to be lack of transportation facilities.
BRITISH HONDURAS. This colony grows a little coffee for its own use, but
imports most of what it needs. Production had reached almost 50,000
pounds in 1904; but the present average is only about 10,000 pounds,
raised on scattering trees over about 1,000 acres.
PANAMA. A small amount of coffee, of which occasionally as much as
200,000 or 250,000 pounds a year are exported, is raised in the uplands
of Panama, or is gathered from wild trees. The industry is not of great
importance, and the country imports considerable supplies, mostly from
the United States.
MEXICO. A very good grade of coffee is produced in Mexico; and it is
said that there is sufficient area of good coffee land to take care of
the demand of the world outside of that supplied by Brazil. Production,
however, is limited, and to a large extent goes to satisfy home needs,
leaving only about 50,000,000 pounds for export. In spite of much
government encouragement in past years, coffee cultivation has not made
rapid progress, when we remember that the country became acquainted with
the plant as early as 1790. Not until about 1870 did the country begin
to become important in the list of coffee-exporters; but by 1878-79,
shipments amounted to about 12,000,000 pounds. This steadily increased
to 29,400,000 pounds in 1891-92. Exports in recent years have averaged
about 50,000,000 pounds; but in 1918 were only 30,000,000. Production
has fluctuated greatly. In the years preceding the troubled
revolutionary period, the total output was estimated as follows: 1907,
45,000,000 pounds; 1908, 42,000,000 pounds; 1909, 81,000,000 pounds;
1910, 70,000,000 pounds. In the ten years preceding 1907, production
dropped as low as 22,000,000 pounds in 1902; and rose to 88,500,000
pounds in 1905. Next to the United States, Germany was the chief buyer
of Mexican coffee before the war; although France and Great Britain also
took several million pounds each.
HAITI. For well over a century Haiti has been shipping tens of millions
of pounds of coffee annually; and the product is the mainstay of the
country's economic life. In all that time, however, shipments have
maintained much the same level. The country has been a coffee producer
from the early years of the eighteenth century, when the plants began to
spread from the original sprigs in Guiana or Martinique. After half a
century of growth, exports had risen to 88,360,000 pounds in 1789-90, a
mark that has never again been reached. Since then, exports have ranged
between 40,000,000 and 80,000,000 pounds, keeping close to the lower
mark in recent years because of European conditions. They were
38,000,000 pounds in 1856; 55,750,000 pounds in 1866; and 52,300,000
pounds in 1876. They had reached 84,028,000 pounds in 1887-88; but fell
back to 67,437,000 pounds in 1897-98; and ten years later, were
63,848,000 pounds. In 1917-18, they were only about two-thirds that
amount, or 42,100,000 pounds. Some 8,000,000 pounds are consumed yearly
in the country itself. The coffee plantations cover about 125,000 acres.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Coffee production in the Dominican Republic ranges
between 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 pounds, exports in recent years
averaging about 3,500,000 pounds. The quality of the coffee is good; but
the plantations are not well cared for. Until fifty years ago, the
industry was in a state of decline from a condition of former
importance; but it was revived, and by 1881 it supplied 1,400,000 pounds
for export. The amount was 1,480,000 pounds in 1888; 3,950,000 pounds in
1900; 1,540,000 pounds in 1909; and 4,870,000 pounds in 1919. Blight,
and disturbed political conditions, have hampered development. In normal
times, Europe takes most of the export.
JAMAICA. Jamaica began to raise coffee about 1730; and from that time on
there was a steady but slow increase in production. Shipments amounted
to about 60,000 pounds in 1752, and to about 1,800,000 pounds in 1775.
At the beginning of the new century, in 1804, exports of 22,000,000
pounds are recorded; and in 1814 the figure was 34,045,000 pounds. Then
exports gradually fell off, and in 1861 were only 6,700,000 pounds. They
were 10,350,000 pounds in 1874; and since then, have not varied much
from 9,000,000 or 10,000,000 pounds a year. They were 9,363,000 pounds
in 1900; 7,885,000 pounds in 1909; and 8,246,000 pounds in 1919. The
acreage in coffee remains fairly constant, being 24,865 in 1900; 22,275
in 1911; and 20,280 in 1917. It is said that there are 80,000 acres of
good coffee land still uncultivated.
PORTO RICO. The cultivation of coffee in Porto Rico dates back to the
middle of the eighteenth century; but exportation does not seem to have
been much more than a million pounds a year until the first years of the
nineteenth century. Between 1837 and 1840, the average exportation was
about 10,000,000 pounds; and by 1865, this had risen to 24,000,000
pounds. Ten years later, it was 25,700,000 pounds. In recent years, it
has averaged about 37,000,000 pounds; the 1921 figure, including
shipments to continental United States, being 29,968,000 pounds.
Production since 1881 has been between 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 pounds;
the heaviest being in 1896 when the total output was 62,628,337
pounds--the largest figure in the island's history. The industry was
greatly damaged by a disastrous storm in 1900, and was also adversely
affected by the European War, as a large part of Porto Rico's crop goes
to Europe. Porto Rican coffee has not been popular in the United States,
which takes only limited amounts. Cuba is one of the island's best
customers.
GUADELOUPE. Coffee production in Guadeloupe reached its highest point in
the latter part of the eighteenth century, when more than 8,000,000
pounds were raised. The figure was about 6,000,000 in 1808; but the
output declined during the succeeding decades, and forty years later was
only 375,000 pounds. The amount produced in 1885 was 986,000 pounds;
and there has been a gradual increase, so that the crop has been large
enough to permit the exportation of 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 pounds, or
more, since the beginning of the present century. Exports in 1901 were
1,449,000 pounds; in 1908, 2,266,000 pounds; and in 1918, 2,144,000
pounds.
OTHER WEST INDIAN ISLANDS. Some little coffee is gathered for home
consumption in many other West Indian islands, but little is exported.
The island of Martinique, which is said to have seen the introduction of
the coffee plant into the western hemisphere, does not now raise enough
for its own use. Cuba was formerly one of the important centers of
production; but for various reasons the industry declined, and for many
years the country has imported most of its coffee supply. A century ago,
the plantations numbered 2,067; and the annual exportation amounted to
50,000,000 pounds. When the island became independent, steps were taken
to revive coffee planting; and in 1907 there were 1,411 plantations and
3,662,850 trees, producing 6,595,700 pounds of coffee. The Cubans,
however, now find it convenient to obtain their coffee from the
neighboring island of Porto Rico and from other sources; and
importations have remained around 20,000,000 pounds a year. In Trinidad
and Tobago, exports have reached as high as 1,000,000 pounds a year; but
in recent times they have fallen off heavily. St. Vincent exported 485
pounds in 1917, and Grenada, 251 pounds in 1916. The Leeward Islands
exported 1,415 pounds in 1917, and 2,946 pounds in 1916, the acreage
being 274, the same as for many years past.
ARABIA. The home of the famous Mocha coffee still produces considerable
quantities of that variety, although the output, comparatively speaking,
is not large. The chief district is the vilayet of Yemen; and the
product reaches the outside world mainly through the port of Aden,
although before the war much of this coffee was exported through
Hodeida. The port of Massowah, in the last two or three years, has been
drawing some of the supply of Mocha for export. No statistics are
available to show the production of Mocha coffee; but an estimate made
by the oldest coffee merchant in Aden places the average annual output
at 45,000 bags of 176 pounds each, or 7,920,000 pounds. Although this is
the only district in the world that can produce the particular grade of
coffee known as Mocha, there is little systematic cultivation, and large
areas of good coffee land are planted to other crops to provide food for
the natives. When transportation facilities are provided, so that this
food can be imported, it is predicted that the output of Mocha coffee
will be doubled.
Aden is a great transhipping port for coffee from Asia and Africa, and
more than half its exports are re-exports from points outside of Arabia.
The following figures will show the proportion of Arabian coffee coming
into Aden for export as compared with that from other producing
sections:
ADEN'S COFFEE RECEIPTS FOR RE-EXPORT
_Imports_ 1916-17 1917-18 1918-19
_from_ (pounds) (pounds) (pounds)
Abyssinia (via Jibuti) 4,529,280 6,174,896 4,337,760
Mocha and Ghizan 3,555,104 6,562,752 3,075,024
Somaliland (British) 394,128 396,592 245,840
Straits Settlements 672,224
Zanzibar and Pemba 92,512 795,312 764,288
All other countries 162,064 307,104 323,616
--------- ---------- ---------
Total 9,405,312 14,236,656 8,746,528
BRITISH INDIA. Cultivation of coffee was begun systematically in India
in 1840; and twenty years later, the country exported about 5,860,000
pounds. For the next eight years the exports remained at about that
figure; but in 1859 they amounted to 11,690,000 pounds; and by 1864 they
had doubled, rising in that year to 26,745,000 pounds. They have
continued at between 20,000,000 and 60,000,000 pounds ever since,
reaching their highest point in 1872 with 56,817,000 pounds. In recent
years, production and exportation have declined; the exports in 1920
being only 30,526,832 pounds. The area under coffee has been between
200,000 and 300,000 acres for fifty years or more, reaching its highest
point in 1896, with 303,944 acres. Recently the area has been slowly
decreasing.
CEYLON. The island of Ceylon was formerly one of the important producers
of coffee; and the industry was a flourishing one until about 1869, when
a disease appeared that in ten or fifteen years practically ruined the
plantations. Production has gone on since then, but at a steadily
declining rate. In late years, the island has not produced enough for
its own use, and is now ranked as an importer rather than as an
exporter. It is said that systematic cultivation was carried on in
Ceylon by the Dutch as early as 1690; and shipments of 10,000 to 90,000
pounds a year were made all through the eighteenth century, exports in
one year, 1741, going as high as 370,000 pounds. The English took the
island in 1795, and thirty years later, they began to expand
cultivation. Exports had risen to 12,400,000 pounds in 1836; and they
continued to increase to a high point of 118,160,000 pounds in 1870; but
in the next thirty years they declined, until they were only 1,147,000
pounds in 1900. The total acreage in coffee at one time reached as high
as 340,000; but as the coffee trees were affected by the leaf disease,
this land was turned to tea; and in 1917 there were only 810 acres left
in coffee.
DUTCH EAST INDIES. The year 1699 saw the importation from the Malabar
coast of India to Java of the coffee plants which were destined to be
the progenitors of the tens of millions of trees that have made the
Dutch East Indies famous for two hundred years. Twelve years afterward,
the first trickle of the stream of coffee that has continued to flow
ever since found its way from Java to Holland, in a shipment of 894
pounds. About 216,000 pounds were exported in 1721; and soon thereafter,
shipments rose into the millions of pounds.
From 1721 to 1730 the Netherlands East India Co. marketed 25,048,000
pounds of Java coffee in Holland; and in the decade following,
36,845,000 pounds. Shipments from Java continued at about the latter
rate until the close of the century, although in the ten years 1771-80
they reached a total of 51,319,000 pounds. The total sales of Java
coffee in Holland for the century were somewhat more than a quarter of a
billion pounds, which represented pretty closely the amount produced.
With the beginning of the nineteenth century, coffee production soon
became much heavier; and in 1825 Java exported, of her own production,
some 36,500,000 pounds, besides 1,360,000 pounds brought from
neighboring islands to which the cultivation had spread. In 1855, the
amount was 168,100,000 pounds of Java coffee, and 4,080,000 pounds of
coffee from the other islands. This is the highest record for the
half-century following the beginning of the regular reports of exports
in 1825. From 1875 to 1879 the average annual yield was 152,184,000
pounds. In 1900, production in Java was 84,184,000 pounds; in 1910, it
was 31,552,000 pounds, and in 1915 it had jumped to 73,984,000 pounds.
On the west coast of Sumatra coffee was regularly cultivated, according
to one account, as early as 1783; but it was not until about 1800, that
exportation began, with about 270,000 pounds. By 1840, exports were
averaging 11,000,000 to 12,250,000 pounds per year. Official records of
production date from 1852, in which year the figures were 16,714,000
pounds. Five years later the recorded yield was 25,960,000 pounds, the
high-water mark of Sumatra production. The total output in 1860 was
21,400,000 pounds; and 22,275,000 pounds in 1870. The average from 1875
to 1879 was 17,408,000 pounds; and from 1895 to 1899, it was 7,589,000
pounds. The yield was 5,576,000 pounds in 1900; 1,360,000 in 1910; and
7,752,000 in 1915.
In Celebes, the first plants were set out about 1750; but seventy years
later production was only some 10,000 pounds. This soon increased to
half a million pounds; and from 1835 to 1852 the yield ran between
340,000 and 1,768,000 pounds. From 1875 to 1879, production averaged
2,176,000 pounds; from 1885 to 1889, 2,747,000 pounds; and from 1895 to
1899, 707,000 pounds. In 1900, it was 680,000 pounds; in 1910, 272,000
pounds; and in 1915, 272,000 pounds.
Planting under government control, largely with forced labor, has been
the special feature of coffee cultivation in the Dutch East Indies. At
first the government exercised what was practically a monopoly; but
private planting was more and more permitted; and in the latter part of
the nineteenth century, the amount of coffee produced on private
plantations exceeded that raised by the government. The government has
now entirely given up the business of coffee production.
The total production of coffee in Java, Sumatra, and Celebes, in 1920,
in piculs of 136 pounds, was as follows:
DUTCH EAST INDIES' COFFEE PRODUCTION
_Kind of_ _Quantity Produced in_
_Coffee_ Java Sumatra Celebes Total
and Bali
(piculs) (piculs) (piculs) (piculs)
Liberica 14,972 6,243 2,074 23,289
Java 16,312 24,291 70,621 111,224
Robusta 411,235 256,645 4,998 672,878
------- ------- ------ -------
Total 442,519 287,179 77,693 807,391
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS. Trade in coffee is a transhipping trade, Singapore
acting as a clearing center for large quantities of coffee from the
neighboring islands. In 1920, the imports were 25,914,267 pounds; and
the exports, 26,856,000 pounds.
FEDERATED MALAY STATES. The acreage in coffee in the Federated Malay
States is steadily declining. In 1903, coffee plantations covered 22,700
acres; in 1913, 7,695 acres; and in 1916, 4,312 acres. There was
formerly a considerable export; but apparently local production is now
required for home consumption, as in 1920 exports were practically
nothing, and about 9,800 pounds were imported.
BRITISH NORTH BORNEO. Total exports of coffee have reached as high as
50,000 pounds, which was the figure in 1904; but they are much less now;
being 5,973 pounds in 1915; 15,109 pounds in 1916; and 1,980 pounds in
1918.
SARAWAK. Previous to 1912, the exportation of coffee from Sarawak, was
20,000 to 45,000 pounds annually. In 1912, a coffee estate of 300 acres
was abandoned, and since that time there have been no exports.
PHILIPPINES. Coffee raising was formerly one of the chief industries of
the Philippines; but it has now greatly declined, partly because of the
blight. Exports reached their highest point in 1883, when 16,805,000
pounds were shipped. Since then, they have fallen off steadily to
nothing; and the islands are now importers, although still producing
considerable for their own use. The area still under cultivation in 1920
was 2,700 acres; and the production in that year was given as 2,710,000
pounds, as compared with 1,580,000 pounds in 1919, and an average of
1,500,000 pounds for the previous five years.
GUAM. Coffee is a common plant on the island but is not systematically
cultivated. There is no exportation, but a Navy Department report says
that the possible export is not less than seventy-five tons annually.
HAWAII. A certain amount of coffee has been produced in the Hawaiian
Islands for many years, exports being recorded as 49,000 pounds in 1861;
as 452,000 pounds in 1870; and as 143,000 pounds in 1877. The trees grow
on all the islands; but nearly all the coffee produced is raised on
Hawaii. The trees are not carefully cultivated; but the coffee has an
excellent flavor. The amount of land planted to coffee is about 6,000
acres. The exports go mostly to continental United States. The exports
are increasing, the figures up to 1909 ranging usually between 1,000,000
and 2,000,000 pounds, and now usually running between 2,000,000 and
5,000,000 pounds. Including shipments to continental United States,
Hawaii exported 5,775,825 pounds in 1918; 3,649,672 pounds in 1919;
2,573,300 pounds in 1920; and 4,979,121 pounds in 1921.
AUSTRALIA. Queensland is the only state of the Commonwealth in which
coffee growing has been at all extensively tried; and here the results
have, up to the present time, been far from satisfactory. The total area
devoted to this crop reached its highest point in the season 1901-02
when an area of 547 acres was recorded. The area then continuously
declined to 1906-07, when it was as low as 256 acres. In subsequent
seasons the area fluctuated somewhat; but, on the whole, with a downward
tendency. In 1919-20, only 24 productive acres were recorded, with a
yield of 16,101 pounds. The country is now listed among the consuming
rather than the producing countries.
ABYSSINIA. This country, usually credited with being the original home
of the coffee plant, still has, in its southern part, vast forests of
wild coffee whose extent is unknown, but whose total production is
believed to be immense. It is of inferior grade, and reaches the market
as "Abyssinian" coffee. There is also a large district of coffee
plantations producing a very good grade called "Harari", which is
considered almost, if not quite, the equal of the Arabian Mocha. This is
usually shipped to Aden for re-export. Abyssinia's coffee reaches the
outside world through three different gateways; and as the neighboring
countries, through which the produce passes, also produce coffee, no
accurate statistics are available to show the country's annual export.
The total probably ranges from 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 pounds a year.
Coffee was shipped from Abyssinia to the extent of 6,773,800 pounds in
1914, over the Franco-Ethiopian railroad; 10,054,000 pounds in 1915; and
9,064,000 pounds in 1916. Export figures of the port of Massowah include
a large amount of Abyssinian coffee, but the proportion is unknown. At
this port 108,680 pounds of coffee were exported in 1914; and 1,221,880
pounds in 1915. Abyssinian coffee exported by way of the Sudan amounted
to 232,616 pounds in 1914; to 140,461 pounds in 1915; and to 4,164,600
pounds in 1916.
BRITISH EAST AFRICAN PROTECTORATE. The acreage in coffee has greatly
increased in recent years. It was estimated at 1,000 acres in 1911; and
by 1916, it had grown to 22,200 acres. Production, as shown by the
exports, has likewise increased greatly; and exports in recent years
have averaged about 8,000,000 pounds a year. They were 10,984,000 pounds
in 1917; and were 18,735,000 pounds in 1918.
UGANDA PROTECTORATE. The acreage in coffee has been steadily increasing,
as shown by the following figures: 1910, 697 acres; 1914, 19,278 acres;
1916, 23,857 acres; 1917, 22,745 acres. In 1909, 33,440 pounds of coffee
were produced; and by 1918, this had grown to 10,000,000 pounds. The
average for the five years, 1914-18, was 5,076,000 pounds.
NYASALAND PROTECTORATE. Twenty-five years ago, this colony exported
coffee in amounts ranging from 300,000 to more than 2,000,000 pounds.
Production has now so declined, that only 122,000 pounds were exported
in 1918; and the average for recent years has been about 92,000 pounds.
The acreage in bearing in 1903 was 8,234; and in 1917 it was 1,237.
NIGERIA. Production has been falling off in recent years. Exports were
35,000 pounds in 1896; 57,000 pounds in 1901; and 70,000 pounds in 1909.
In 1916 and 1917, however, they were only about 3,000 pounds.
GOLD COAST. This colony formerly produced considerable coffee, exporting
142,000 pounds in 1896. There have been no exports in recent years,
except about 440 pounds in 1916, and 660 pounds in 1917.
SOMALILAND PROTECTORATE. Exports of coffee were more than 7,500,000
pounds in 1897, indicating a very extensive production. But since then,
there has been a steady decline; and in 1918 only about 440,000 pounds
were shipped.
SOMALI COAST (FRENCH). Exports of coffee from this colony amounted to
more than 5,000,000 pounds in 1902; and since then, they have remained
fairly steadily at that figure, showing considerable increase in late
years. Total exports in 1917 were 11,200,000 pounds.
ITALIAN SOMALILAND. Some coffee appears to be grown in this colony; but
exports have been inconsiderable for many years.
SIERRA LEONE. Production has been steadily declining for twenty years.
Exports were 33,376 pounds in 1903; 17,096 pounds in 1913; and 8,228
pounds in 1917.
MAURITIUS. In former times this island was an important coffee producer,
exports in the early part of the nineteenth century running as high as
600,000 pounds. Today there is practically no export, and only about 30
acres are in bearing, producing 4,000 to 8,000 pounds a year.
RÉUNION. This island also was once a notable grower of coffee. A century
ago, production was estimated as high as 10,000,000 pounds; and this
rate of output continued well through the nineteenth century. In the
present century, production has fallen off; and only about 530,000
pounds were exported in 1909. The decrease has continued, so that the
average in recent years has been only about 25,000 pounds.
_Coffee Consumption_
Of the million or more tons of coffee produced in the world each year,
practically all--with the exception of that which is used in the
coffee-growing countries themselves--is consumed by the United States
and western Europe, the British dominions, and the non-producing
countries of South America. Over that vast stretch of territory
beginning with western Russia, and extending over almost the whole of
Asia, coffee is very little known. In the consuming regions mentioned,
moreover, consumption is concentrated in a few countries, which together
account for some ninety percent of all the coffee that enters the
world's markets. These are, the United States, which now takes more than
one-half, and Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Belgium,
Switzerland, and Scandinavia.
The United Kingdom stands out conspicuously among the nations of western
Europe as a small consumer of coffee, the per capita consumption in that
country being only about two-thirds of a pound each year. France and
Germany are by far the biggest coffee buyers of Europe so far as actual
quantity is concerned; although some of the other countries mentioned
drink much more coffee in proportion to the population. The
Mediterranean countries and the Balkans are of only secondary
importance as coffee drinkers. Among the British dominions, the Union of
South Africa takes much the largest amount, doubtless because of the
Dutch element in its population; while Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand show the influence of the mother country, consumption per head
in the last two being no greater than in England.
[Illustration: No. 4--WORLD'S COFFEE CONSUMPTION, 1850-1920
Diagram showing the relationship between the leading coffee-consuming
countries]
In South America, Brazil, Bolivia, and all the countries to the north,
are coffee producers. Of the southern countries, Argentina is the chief
coffee buyer, with Chile second. In the western hemisphere, however, the
largest per capita coffee consumer is the island of Cuba, which raises
some coffee of its own and imports heavily from its neighbors.
The list of coffee-consuming countries includes practically all those
that do not raise coffee, and also a few that have some coffee
plantations, but do not grow enough for their own use. These countries
are listed on page 287. Consumption figures can be determined with fair
accuracy by the import figures; although in some countries, where there
is a considerable transit trade, it is necessary to deduct export from
import figures to obtain actual consumption figures. The import figures
given are the latest available for each country named.
[Illustration: No. 5--COFFEE IMPORTS, 1916-1920
In this diagram a comparison is drawn between the coffee imports of the
leading consuming countries over a critical 5-year period]
GENERAL COFFEE CONSUMPTION TABLE
_Country_ _Year_ _Imports_ _Exports_ _Consumption_
(pounds) (pounds) (pounds)
United States 1921[j] 1,345,366,943[k] 41,813,197[k] 1,303,553,746
Canada 1921[l] 17,517,353 20,349 17,497,004
Newfoundland 1920[l] 46,813[m] 46,813
United Kingdom 1921[j] 34,363,728[m] 34,360,128
France 1921[j] 322,419,884 1,154,769 321,265,115
Spain 1920 48,518,854 5,033 48,513,821
Portugal 1919[j] 6,926,575 1,258,271 5,668,304
Belgium 1921[j] 105,365,586 21,541,049 83,824,537
Holland 1921[j] 135,566,943 66,567,702 69,999,241
Denmark 1921[j] 46,571,954 3,449,537 43,122,417
Norway 1921[j] 29,835,544 169,921 29,665,623
Sweden 1921[j] 89,660,766 89,660,766
Finland 1921[j] 27,968,355 27,968,355
Russia 1916 9,801,014 9,801,014
Austria-Hungary 1917 17,966,167 56,217 17,909,950
(former)
Austria 1921[n] 5,128,781 79,365 5,049,416
Germany (former) 1913 371,130,520 1,783,521 369,346,999
Germany (present) 1921[o] 167,675,258 210,535 167,464,723
Poland 1920 7,612,526 26,781 7,585,745
Bulgaria 1914 1,300,493 1,300,493
Rumania 1919 5,134,198 66,757 5,067,441
Greece 1920[p] 13,118,626 13,118,626
Switzerland 1921[j] 31,582,879 47,619 31,535,260
Italy 1920 66,509,255 14,330 66,494,925
Algeria 1920 17,273,041 17,273,041
Tunis 1920 3,458,018 3,458,018
Egypt 1921[j] 20,939,542 218,938 20,720,604
Union of S. Africa 1920 28,752,538 954,181[q] 27,798,357
Northern Rhodesia 1920 43,880 8,263 35,617
Southern Rhodesia 1920 325,900 10,064 315,836
Mozambique 1919 111,614 78,973 32,641
Ceylon 1920 1,853,537 2,240 1,851,297
China 1920 613,217 297,663 315,554
Japan 1920 684,826 684,826
Philippines 1920 3,475,530 26 3,475,504
Canary Islands 1917 529,104 529,104
Cyprus 1918 451,880 451,880
Australia 1920[l] 2,502,429 263,430[r] 2,238,999
New Zealand 1920 304,737 21,104 283,633
Cuba 1920[l] 39,983,001 1,305 39,981,696
Martinique 1918 335,099 10,362 324,737
Panama 1920 216,923 518 216,405
Argentina 1919 37,541,020 37,541,020
Chile 1920 12,357,929 12,357,929
Uruguay 1921[p] 4,896,507 4,896,507
Paraguay 1920 262,737 262,737
[j] Preliminary figures.
[k] Figures are for continental U.S. Imports include both foreign coffee
and coffee from our Island possessions. Exports Include both foreign and
domestic exports from continental U.S. and also exports to our island
possessions.
[l] Fiscal year.
[m] Entered for home consumption.
[n] First six months. Imports in 1920 were 6,042,808 pounds; exports
93,034 pounds.
[o] Eight months, May-December.
[p] First eleven months.
[q] Exports of foreign coffee. Domestic exports were 48,463 pounds.
[r] Exports of foreign coffee. Domestic exports were 208,445 pounds.
On account of the very wide fluctuations in imports during the war and
the period following the war, per capita figures of consumption are of
only relative value, as they have naturally changed radically in recent
years. For the most part, however, the trade has about swung back to
normal; and per capita figures based on the amounts retained for
consumption, as given in the General Coffee Consumption Table, are
fairly close to those for the years before the war. As per capita
calculations must take into account population as well as amounts of
coffee consumed; and as population figures are usually estimates, the
results arrived at by different authorities are likely to vary slightly,
although usually they are not far apart. In figuring the per capita
amounts in the table on page 288, latest available estimates of
population have been used. The figures show that the following are the
ten leading countries in the per capita consumption of coffee in pounds:
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