Cocoa and Chocolate Part 17

Since 1830 the consumption of cacao in the British Isles has shown a great and continuous increase, and there is every reason to believe that the consumption will easily keep pace with the rapidly growing production. One effect of the war has been to increase the consumption of cocoa and chocolate. Many thousands of men who took no interest in "sweets" learned from the use of their emergency ration that chocolate was a very convenient and concentrated foodstuff.

CACAO BEANS CLEARED FOR HOME CONSUMPTION.

Year. English Tons.

1830 450 1840 900 1850 1,400 1860 1,450 1870 3,100 1880 4,700 1890 9,000 1900 16,900 1910 24,550

CACAO BEANS IMPORTED INTO UNITED KINGDOM.

_Total _Retained in _Home Year. Imported_ the country_ Consumption_ tons. tons. tons.

1912 33,600 27,450 24,600 1913 35,000 28,200 23,200 1914 41,750 29,600 24,900 1915 81,800 54,400 40,300 1916 88,800 64,750 29,300 1917 57,900 53,100 41,300

The above figures are compiled from the _Bulletin of the Imperial Inst.i.tute_ (No. 1, 1919). The total imports for 1918 were 42,390 tons.

This sudden and marked drop in the amount imported was due to shortage of s.h.i.+pping. There were, however, large quant.i.ties of cacao in stock, and the amount consumed showed a marked advance on previous years, being 61,252 tons.

The Board of Trade Returns for 1919 are as follow:

CACAO BEANS IMPORTED INTO UNITED KINGDOM.

_From_ British West Africa 72,886 tons British West Indies 13,219 tons Ecuador 9,153 tons Brazil 3,665 tons Ceylon 903 tons Other Countries 13,820 tons ------------ Total 113,646 tons ------------ Home Consumption 64,613 tons

It will be noted that the import of British cacao is over 75 per cent.

of the total.

Before the war about half the cacao imported into the United Kingdom was grown in British possessions. During the war more and more British cacao was imported, and now that a preferential duty of seven s.h.i.+llings per hundredweight has been given to British Colonial growths we shall probably see a still higher percentage of British cacao consumed in the United Kingdom.

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 princ.i.p.al 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_

Average of 1913. 1914, 5, 6,& 7. 1918. 1919.

Country. Tons. Tons. Tons. 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CACAO PODS, LEAVES AND FLOWERS.

Reproduced by permission of Messrs. Fry & Sons, Ltd., Bristol.]

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS ON COCOA AND CHOCOLATE ARRANGED IN ORDER OF DATE OF PUBLICATION.

1600-1700

RAUCH, Joan. Franc.

DISPUTATIO MEDICO DIOETETICA DE AeRE ET ESCULENTIS, DE NECNON POTU. Vienna 1624

[Condemns cocoa as a violent inflamer of the pa.s.sions.]

COLMENERO, Antonio de Ledesma.

[Treatise on Chocolate in Spanish ent.i.tled:]

CURIOSO TRATADO DE LA NATURALEZA Y CALIDAD DEL CHOCOLATE, DIVIDIDO EN QUATRO PUNTOS. Madrid 1631

Translated into English by Don Diego de Vades-forte 1640 Translated into French by Rene Moreau 1643 Translated into Latin by J.G. Volckamer 1644 Translated into English by J. Wadsworth 1652 Translated into Italian by A. Vitrioli 1667 Moreau's translation edited by Sylvestre Dufour 1671 and 1685 and translated into English by J. Chamberlaine 1685

[for t.i.tles, etc., see under translators]

DE VADES-FORTE, Don Diego.

[The magnificent pseudonym of J. Wadsworth.]

(Translated by.)