COLONIAL SUGAR

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 222, 14 June 1920, Page 6

COLONIAL SUGAR

MYSTERIOUSLY INCREASED

CONSUMPTION

INEXPLICABLE WORLD'S PRICE

The half-yearly' meeting of'sharehold- . era of tho Colonial Sugar Refining! Company was held recently, Mr. H, C, IGjjter chairman of directors, presiding. Tie chairman, in moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, eaia-.— My. remarks to you to-day should begin with a reference to our inability to cope with the extraordinary demand for sugar during the Past, six months, to meet whioh ire were in a difficult position, because the stocks usually accumulated in the fcinter had been delivered 'during the shipping strike, and two ot the refiners did'short work to the exten.. of 6000 tons for want of coal. Nevertheless, wo delivered 143,400 tons of refined sugar—more by 2000 tons flhan we ever disposed of before' in the samo period— besides the 28,700 tons of raw-sugnr mentioned in tho report. We are still unaware what has .become of all we have sold. Apparently every other person complains of short supplies; has the neighbour in each caso twice as much in his storeroom, as is needed for his ordinary consumption? A certain rjnantity was used.in. making jam for export which we cannot estimate; in other resjiects it seems open to doubt whether there has been .any change in the habits of the people that would result in the daily uso of a largely increased quantity of sugar. Then, as to (the advance in price, I can only state that we have had no voice, nor did we moke a suggestion, as to raising the rates to be paid to the sugar mills for *be ensuing l three crops. About the selling quotations we had been asked to give our opinion, and had done so by pointing out the price tho consumer should pay if the Government is to carry on the -business without loss. You wall probably have noticed that we asked for a Bniall'ndvance—2s. 6d. per ton—on what is called the. refiner's margin, for which we receive unaer the present agreement 20s. per ton. As this is all we have to cover depreciation and interest on the capital employed in tho refining plant and working stocks other than sugar (together about and Jo finance from purchase to realisation the raw sujar supplies needed for the twelve months, expected to cost at least i 15.000,000, it is evident that no charge of profiteering can. bo laid at our doors, A Myitery. The.course of the world's price.of sugar is to us inexplicable. This i 6 at present about that ruling when I addressed you ■ last October, and. we cannot understand how such a. price can be maintained, nor how.Europe can continue to import \indor these conditions. What we can do, howover, is to order our own affairs so that a,reversion, either immediate or delayed,.to pre-war figures shall not find us unprepared.

In. Queensland, the year has been .a trying one in _ regard to' weather; still we had average crops at four, of tho mills. Though heavy rains have lately fallen in the- north the usual wet season has, to a great extent, failed us this year, and. we expect rather less cane in 1920 than we had in 1919, but the increase in tho 1 price of sugar may induce growers to add, to the area under crop, though this can hardly have much effect on the production before 1922, In any case, the Cane Prices, Act must be a. serious hindrance to any.ouch movement. As evidence of the willingness of our canegrowers to sell their crops en the basis of contracts rather than havo the matter determined by the Cane Prices Board, I can state that arrangements'have been made At nil our mills for the acquisition of tho crop of 1920 by the company through an intermediary, a 9 has been done during the last two years. of the tatmers have expressed a desire to make an agreement to cover the two following years, during whiofc the Commonwealth has undertaken to buy the sugar produced; The New South Wales north coast, has been mors favoured in weather conditions sinco last November, and the crops, are now doing fairly well, •Much of the young cane planted in the pasti> spring, failed through drought, and this failure cannot be made good- till September, when there will 'probably ■bo an increase in the area, and a. larger crop will be looked for two years .hence. Enlargement of Plant. In view of possible additions to the Australian population when 6ea travel can be resumed' on normal lines, we have been obliged to take up tho matter of supplementing the refining plant, and- are now arranging for changes in Sydney and Melbourne to meet a larger demand. There are. many factors to be considered, not the least important" of which'is th«N enormous'cost of both buildings and plant, but we hope to be, able to complete tho proposed works for an amount that will not greatly exceed the sums we must set aside for depreciation of, the refinery plant during the years 1920-22 inclusive. Another difficulty—a very, serious one—is that of getting men and material for building purposes.. Wo havo not yet been able to complete the 6ugar store at the Pyr,mont Eefinery, which was destroyed by fire eighteen months ago. While speaking on this subject 11 may eay concerning the agitation for reducing the week's •work in five days, that such a change will, if. successful, take a sixth off the production 'of the refineries, already working to their full capacity to supply the community with sugar. The only trades I have heard w as likely'to benefit by' this proposal are those connected with the suburban racecourses.- TSo doubt, it can be contended that manufacturers are' able to continue working at a profit when imports are checked by high protective duties, and such duties are increased as required to counteract the effect of shortened hours'and diminished production. But is no consideration to bo given to the countrjr producer, on whose work the towns live, and to the large class of people with small fixed incomes on whom the effects of the present regulated wage 6ystcm fall with grievous force? The extent_ to which tho country has gono in placing the control of Industries in the hands of the legal profession can be gathered from the fact *hat in our own Australian factories we «re now directly affected by ninety-eight State and Commonwealth awards; how many touch us indirectly I could not r.ay.

Good rains hare fallen in Fiji from November till the present time, the consequence being that wo hope for an average crop, except at one mill, where the racial unrest already manifest _ in India brought about., a strike and rioting. Tho rising was quelled by the Government in a vigorous way with the help of a. small military force from New Zealand, and, as the agitators who brought It on have now left the- country, the trouble is not likely to recur. For tho past six months negotiations for the resumption of immigration from India navo been continued there and in England. It is too early yet to say that the difficulty, which should never unve arisen, has been settled, but tho prospects of agreement in the matter nrc better than they were. On our side, there -is nothing to hinder settlement; we hav? never asked for more than that the Crown colony of Fiji should be permitted to engage labourers in India as do tho similarly governed colonics of. Malay and Ceylon; our conditions of employment arc, of the three-, by far the most faovurnblc. As we could not see our way to continuo the supply of New Zealand with sugar on the lines hitherto prevailing, because of tho maintenance thero of control over' selling prices by the Government, we hnvo offered to sell tho Fiji crop to thop Dominion, and to refine this under an agreement on tho lines of that in forco in Australia for the past five years. Though the price asked is a remunerativo one, the Gov-, ernment would get their supply at a rate very much below tho present cost of similar sugar from Java.