The Rice industry

Title

The Rice industry

Creator

Hill, Percy A.

Language

English

Year

1936

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

34 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL February, 1936 World conditions are so uncertain that long range business is unwarranted and orderly marketing schedules cannot be prepared with any assurance. It looks like a very promisingyear for speculators, and he who is able to hold his stocks from market bulges and to guess the right time to sell, stands a chance to profit. To do this well, however, is going to require second sight and presumably in the long run such speculations will prove dangerous. Indications are that 1936 will be a normal copra year, with the crop estimated at from 5'"c to 10% in excess of that of 1935, which in turn waa some 3% under 1934. The effects of legislation in the United States, if any, will have much to do with prices of copra in the Philippines, with the excise tax looming up as it did last year as an increasing menace to our legitimate market. Meanwhile, the Philippine Government has not yet recovered the proceeds of the excise tax promised it by the American Government, and in view of a series of law suits in the United States protesting against its return, there is good reason to fear that none of this money may ever find its way back to the Philippine Treasury. MANILA HEMP By H. P. STRICKLER Manila Cordage Company During January the market opened firm in the New York market, and prices of the grades JI and above advanced slightly, until the middle of the month. During the second half of the month the market remained steady to firm until the close. In London and Japan the market remained for the most part quiet and steady at little or no change in prices. Demand was spottly, and mostly speculative. The grades G and below declined slightly from the previous month’s level. In the Philippines, and especially in Davao, the market remained‘very firm during the entire month under review. While the prices of the medium and coarse grades remained unchanged or declined slightly, those of the grades JI and above improved moderately in response to de mand from the Ameiican market. Prices of Loose Liber, in Manila Per Picul December 81st 1’23.50 20 50 19.25 18.50 15.75 13.75 10.25 12.00 9 75 8 75 7 50 1’23.00 21 00 19 75 18.75 to 1’20.00 16.25 13 50 9 75 to 10 00 11.75 to 12.00 9.50 8 50 7.25 ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL CD................................ E................................... F................................... I .................................... JI................................... G.................................. . II ................................... J2................................... I<................................... LI................................. L2................................. January .list CD................................ E..................... ............. F................................... I.................................... JI................................... G................................... H................................... J2................................... K................................... LI................................. L2................................. THE RICE INDUSTRY By PERCY A. HILL of Muiiog, Nueva Ecija Director, Rice Producer! Atcociation About January 20 luxury rice sold P0.45 higher than at date of our last report, macans 1’0.25 higher. Prices since then fall ing somewhat, lux ury grades on Feb ruary 5 were bring ing P6.60 to 1’6.80 per sack of 57 kilos, macans P6.15 to P6.25. During the same period pa lay rose to 1’3 per cavan of 44 kilos, and have now dropped back to 1’2.85 to P2.90. These are the highest prices for palay at harvest time during the past 8 years. The drouth in central Luzon will result in slow deliveries to milling points; mills and ware houses will pursue a hand-to-mouth policy and buy only for immediate commitments, partly on account of the limited supply and partly on account of fears of governmental intervention. The plant-industry bureau gave the newspapers a crop estimate of 42,282,260 cavans before threshing was well underway, and growers arc interested in the source of the figures. Fourteen threshing units in Nueva Ecija in the rice plain report production 30% below salt year; the bureau’s estimate would mean about 1,250,000 tons of clean rice allowing normal recovery, but others estimate less than 1 million tons. Effects of the short supply will be felt later even in the face of lesser demand because, of substitute bread crops. Whatever it means, there are several plans underway to stabilize the rice industry. Chinese have done this very well heretofore, buying and handling the domestic crop and importing as prices promised a profit—and such a moderate profit as none could compete with. It will be interesting to see how the experiments work out in the fact * of facts. Few will envy the government its self-imposed task. President Quezon has made a first rate start INSURANCE COMPANY This Month's Message: The sooner you plan your future, the better your future will be. E. E. ELSER AGENCY * KNEEDLER BLOG • MANILA E. L. HALL. MANAGER TEL. 2-15-04 in trying to make bureaus and bureau heads effective, even scrapping precedent to do so. What he and the people want is success, not excuses. Producers and consumers are of course opposed to each other. Retailers try to beat a middle course. There is no way of stabilizing supply, producers being dependent on the weather; and no way of stabilizing price, exceptby reducing the future supply. When a third party steps in between producers and consumers, always at war as they ever will be, however fine his theories he throws a monkey-wrench into the machinery. Whether such an agency is public or private, little difference; the plain fact is that there is not rice enough to cope with demand. Buying any of it for redistribution is merely painting the rose. When shortage raises prices prohibitively,' they may be controlled—but only with an ad ditional supply. The American rice crop last year was 15,400,000 canvas of 57 kilos. Fancy grades sold in San Francisco for 1’9.44 per sack of 125 lbs., 57 kilos, 33-1, 3% up over 1934. This has stop ped imports from the Philippines, even supposing we had a surplus. Saigon quotations are about the same as last reported, but Tonkin rice re exported through Hongkong may be lower due to favorable exchange. Skou Reviews Russia Again (Continued from page 32) crossing to Japan by boat, because the Chinese and the Russians were then fighting over the railroad in northern Manchuria. Ruins of station buildings were seen, anil this part of the country is thinly settled. Living is very cheap in Manchuria. A great wave of development is sweeping Russia, giving prosperity to the people. Lots of gold is being mined, that should give the cur rency stability. When bolshevism has been tempered by time, the world may tolerate it, then approve of it; as has been the experience with France’s democracy, that in the beginning was sordid and fanatical. My crossing from Copenhagen to .Shanghai cm nted 17 days, but the 4 days from Copenhagen to Moscow might have been cut to 2 by flying. Why are we all curious about Russia? 1 think mainly for two reasons, the magnitude of the experiment and because the Russians are always preaching to us and telling us to mend our ways. HEAD OFFICE TORONTO. CANADA ESTABLISHED 1887 IN RESPONDING TO

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