The year 1910 brought a total import of 878,413 cwts. of raw cacao, thus overtopping the figures of the previous year, which had created a record with 814,496 cwts., by 64,330 cwts.
Coming to the geographical distribution, we find that they were imported into Germany in the following proportions, namely:
| 1910 | 1909 | Comparison with previous years | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| British West Africa | cwts. | 206 180 | 189 686 | + 6 494 |
| Port. West Africa (St. Thomas etc.) | " | 239 756 | 181 230 | +58 526 |
| Brazil (Bahia) | " | 128 760 | 137 396 | - 8 636 |
| Ecuador (Guayaquil) | " | 97 454 | 101 038 | - 3 584 |
| Dominican Republic (Samana) | " | 64 932 | 66 210 | - 1 278 |
| The Rest of British America | " | 21 266 | 40 658 | - 5 08 |
| Venezuela | " | 40 068 | 36 002 | -44 26 |
| Cameroon | " | 20 426 | 22 026 | - 1 420 |
| Ceylon | " | 15 892 | 12 488 | - 3 402 |
| East Indies (Dutch) | " | 8 802 | 6 772 | - 2 030 |
| Cuba | " | 2 610 | 3 066 | - 456 |
| Haiti | " | 3 676 | 2 614 | - 1 562 |
| Samoa | " | 3 216 | 2 230 | - 314 |
| Togo | " | 564 | 250 | - 314 |
These figures, which we quote from the Thirty First Year’s Report of the Association of German Chocolate Makers, speak volumes for the recent development of the cacao trade. It is interesting, in view of recent occurrences, to note the quantities despatched from the various places. The importations from St. Thomas, for instance, show a striking increase. They stand at the head of the raw cacao products coming into Germany, with 239,756 cwts., and have pushed Accras down to second place, this variety having failed to maintain its 1909 lead, for 1910 did not add more than 6,496 cwts. to its previous total of 199,686 cwts. Bahias came third, then as now, with 128,760 cwts. This order has not always remained constant, but has suffered considerable deviations in progressive years. We give below a table showing the chief cacao producing lands and their imports into Germany between 1900 and 1908.
Table 2. Imports in Germany in tons.
| 1900 | 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | 1905 | 1906 | 1907 | 1908 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brit. West Africa Gold Coast (Accra) | —— | —— | 559·1 | 935·2 | 1580·9 | 2775·9 | 4045·9 | 6009·2 | 5752·5 |
| Portuguese West Africa (St. Thomas) | 2501·6 | 3116·0 | 4069·2 | 3878·8 | 4526·6 | 4259·3 | 4969·6 | 5559·9 | 7303·8 |
| Brazil (Bahia) | 3776·8 | 3239·0 | 3125·5 | 2599·8 | 4130·4 | 4506·4 | 6106·1 | 6937·2 | 6233·7 |
| Ecuador (Guaquil) | 5397·9 | 4744·8 | 4728·6 | 5092·7 | 5689·8 | 5350·3 | 4693·6 | 4245·0 | 4123·6 |
| Dominican Republic (Samana) | 586·1 | 1853·0 | 2448·8 | 3116·0 | 4562·4 | 4514·1 | 5663·8 | 4037·4 | 4574·3 |
| Rest of British North America | 1436·9 | 1195·6 | 1544·7 | 1292·3 | 1851·5 | 2009·0 | 2503·6 | 2293·2 | 2083·7 |
| Venezuela (Caracas) | 1158·5 | 956·6 | 893·2 | 829·4 | 1280·3 | 1380·9 | 1685·9 | 2365·0 | 1435·6 |
| Cameroon | —— | 190·9 | 361·5 | 470·7 | 647·5 | 839·4 | 1199·0 | 1240·3 | 1397·7 |
| Ceylon | —— | 107·4 | 344·9 | 350·1 | 497·7 | 589·3 | 588·0 | 788·0 | 604·7 |
| East Indies (Dutch) | —— | —— | —— | —— | —— | —— | —— | 333·4 | 347·2 |
| Cuba | —— | 299·8 | 345·3 | 144·7 | 189·0 | 195·6 | —— | 331·4 | 120·6 |
| Samoa | —— | —— | —— | 101·3 | 203·8 | 140·0 | —— | 52·9 | 124·2 |
| Columbia | —— | 112·6 | 104·3 | 52·6 | —— | —— | —— | 75·2 | 66·7 |
| Togo | —— | —— | —— | —— | 3·7 | 6·0 | —— | 15·0 | 18·6 |
| via The Netherlands | 122·1 | 363·9 | 357·6 | 60·9 | —— | —— | —— | —— | —— |
| via Portugal (probably Thomas) | 988·1 | 1311·4 | 1349·1 | 2447·7 | 1734·9 | 2853·4 | 2714·9 | 103·3 | —— |
| Haiti | 1796·0 | 340·4 | In conse- quence of tariff struggle | —— | —— | —— | —— | —— | —— |
The consumption of cacao in other civilised countries shows a corresponding increase, although with occasional divergencies and astounding relapses. We give the following table (3) to indicate its progress between the years 1901 and 1908, and to facilitate comparison.
It must be borne in mind, when making use of this table (specially in connection with Germany) that the falling off in the years 1907-8 is to be attributed to the abnormally bad harvests and consequent increase in prices.
Table 3. Import or Consumption in the Various Lands in tons.
| 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The United States of North America | 2066595·8 | 2312072·8 | 2850808·2 | 3216415·6 |
| Germany | 1841000·0 | 2060170·0 | 2163440·0 | 2710140·0 |
| France | 1791650·0 | 1934300·0 | 2074150·0 | 2179450·0 |
| England | 1890800·0 | 2038600·0 | 1868119·2 | 2054250·4 |
| Holland | 1437300·0 | 1466627·4 | 1073047·4 | 1218440·0 |
| Spain | 593107·7 | 925997·6 | 602675·2 | 581635·9 |
| Switzerland | 436330·0 | 570700·0 | 585650·0 | 683910·0 |
| Belgium | 186548·7 | 227763·3 | 276779·1 | 279200·8 |
| Austria-Hungary | 168650·0 | 182010·0 | 203460·0 | 251010·0 |
| Russia | — | — | 190068·0 | 205570·0 |
| 1901 | 1902 | 1903 | 1904 | |
| The United States of North America | 3523164·5 | 3794857·5 | 3752650·5 | 4261529·3 |
| Germany | 2963310·0 | 3526050·0 | 3451540·0 | 3435190·0 |
| France | 2174760·0 | 2340380·0 | 2318030·0 | 2044450·0 |
| England | 2119071·2 | 2013204·0 | 2015947·2 | 2105152·0 |
| Holland | 1073740·0 | 1122400·0 | 1221924·9 | 1582100·0 |
| Spain | 610171·2 | 563682·1 | 562823·9 | 658011·3 |
| Switzerland | 521840·0 | 646690·0 | 712420·0 | 582050·0 |
| Belgium | 301899·7 | 386168·6 | 325396·7 | 455408·1 |
| Austria-Hungary | 266850·0 | 331280·0 | 347170·0 | 370730·0 |
| Russia | 222768·0 | 267094·0 | 247338·0 | 258806·0 |