Until the production of copra in the Philippines is much higher than at present, it will be impossible to keep all the expellers and presses now installed working at full capacity. It is therefore proposed to start a campaign for the planting of quick-growing crops of oil-bearing seeds. Among the plants that were most popular at first was the tañgan-tañgan, or castor bean. This grows very rapidly and yields a very high percentage of castor oil, which was sold at high prices during the war as a lubricant for aeroplanes and other delicate machinery. At the present writing, however, it is generally thought that the mills will do better if they can turn to the production of peanut oil, using imported peanuts to begin with and enlarging the return as the domestic yield increases.
Sugar.—Cane-sugar ranks first among the islands’ agricultural exports.
As early as 1795 the United States have been importing sugar from the Philippine Islands; for that year 132 long tons were imported.
Up to the middle of the nineteenth century, however, the production of sugar-cane in the Philippines was confined largely to the provinces of Luzon near Manila. But shortly after the Crimean war the demand for sugar in Europe increased, and interest in the industry was greatly stimulated in the Islands. This resulted in the extension of the industry into the Visayan Islands, Occidental Negros becoming the largest cane producing section of the Archipelago, and so continues until the present day.
As late as 1914 most of the sugar produced in the Islands was muscovado. It was not until the establishment of modern sugar centrals that centrifugal sugar was produced. The production of sugar became so stimulated as a result, and in 1922, as many as 455,404,427 kilos were produced. There are now 28 sugar centrals in the Islands as against one in 1910, and several are in process of construction.
The following table shows the growth of the sugar industry from 1913 to 1922:
| Year | Area under cultivation | Production of sugar | Total value of sugar products |
| Acres | Short tons | ||
| 1913 | 435,188 | 345,080 | $12,849,000 |
| 1914 | 418,676 | 408,343 | 14,314,000 |
| 1915 | 427,710 | 421,196 | 16,606,000 |
| 1916 | 444,189 | 412,278 | 17,068,000 |
| 1917 | 459,436 | 425,270 | 19,352,500 |
| 1918 | 507,818 | 474,750 | 20,579,500 |
| 1919 | 494,692 | 453,350 | 37,231,400 |
| 1920 | 487,783 | 466,917 | 79,648,600 |
| 1921 | 596,363 | 589,443 | 48,189,500 |
| 1922 | 595,066 | 533,194 | 29,974,125 |
The quantity and value of the exportation of this product is shown below: