VALUE OF CACAO BEANS IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM (TO NEAREST £1,000).
| Total value of Cacao | From British Possessions. | ||
| Year. | Beans Imported. | Value. | Per cent. |
| 1913 | £2,199,000 | £1,158,000 | 52.7 |
| 1914 | £2,439,000 | £1,204,000 | 49.4 |
| 1915 | £5,747,000 | £3,546,000 | 61.7 |
| 1916 | £6,498,000 | £4,417,000 | 68.0 |
| 1917 | £3,498,000 | £3,010,000 | 86.0 |
| 1918 | £3,040,000 | £2,549,000 | 83.8 |
| 1919 | £9,207,000 | £6,639,000 | 72.1 |
That the consumption of cacao is expected to grow greater yet in the immediate future is reflected in the prices of raw cacao, which, as soon as they were no longer fixed by the Government, rose rapidly, thus Accra cacao rose from 65s. per hundredweight to over 90s. per hundredweight in a few weeks, and now (January, 1920) stands at 104s. (See diagram [p. 113]).
World Consumption.
The world's consumption of cacao is steadily rising. Before the war the United States, Germany, Holland, Great Britain, France, and Switzerland were the principal consumers. Whilst we have increased our consumption, so that Great Britain now occupies second place, the United States has outstripped all the other countries, having doubled its consumption in a few years, and is now taking almost as much as all the rest of the world put together. It is thought that since America has "gone dry" this remarkably large consumption is likely to be maintained.
WORLD'S CONSUMPTION OF CACAO BEANS.
| (to the nearest thousand tons) 1 ton = 1000 kilograms. | ||||
| Pre-war | War Period | Post-war | ||
| Country. | 1913. Tons. | Average of 1914, 5, 6, &. 7. Tons. | 1918. Tons. | 1919. Tons. |
| U.S.A. | 68,000 | 103,000 | 145,000 | 145,000 |
| Germany | 51,000 | 28,000 | ? | 13,000 |
| Holland | 30,000 | 25,000 | 2,000 | 39,000 |
| Great Britain | 28,000 | 41,000 | 62,000 | 66,000 |
| France | 28,000 | 35,000 | 39,000 | 46,000 |
| Switzerland | 10,000 | 14,000 | 18,000 | 21,000 |
| Austria | 7,000 | 2,000 | ? | 2,000 |
| Belgium | 6,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 8,000 |
| Spain | 6,000 | 7,000 | 6,000 | 8,000 |
| Russia | 5,000 | 4,000 | ? | ? |
| Canada | 3,000 | 4,000 | 9,000 | ? |
| Italy | 2,000 | 5,000 | 6,000 | 6,000 |
| Denmark | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | ? |
| Sweden | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | ? |
| Norway | 1,000 | 2,000 | 2,000 | ? |
| Other countries (estimated) | 5,000 | 8,000 | 11,000 | 26,000 |
| Total | 252,000 | 283,000 | 305,000 | 380,000 |
The above figures are compiled chiefly from Mr. Theo. Vasmer's reports. The Gordian estimates that the world's consumption in 1918 was 314,882 tons. In several of our larger colonies and in at least one European country there is obviously ample room for increase in the consumption. When one considers the great population of Russia, four to five thousand tons per annum is a very small amount to consume. It is pleasant to think of cocoa being drunk in the icebound North of Russia—it brings to mind so picturesque a contrast: cacao, grown amongst the richly-coloured flora of the tropics, consumed in a land that is white with cold. When Russia has reached a more stable condition we shall doubtless see a rapid expansion in the cacao consumption.
