Chapter IX · STATISTICS OF THE TRADE IN EDIBLE OILS
Reading edition
In basing any conclusions as to the consumption of edible oils upon the figures published by the Customs authorities of different countries, allowance must be made for the fact that in many cases (e.g. seed oils) it is not possible to distinguish the quantities used for food from those used for soap and lubricating purposes.
United Kingdom Trade.—The following figures are taken from the tables published annually by the Board of Trade, and show the import of oils during the ten years ending 1908:—
Oils. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903.
Cocoanut, cwts. 458,297 552,743 478,143 495,860 782,632
Olive, tuns 15,939 12,044 15,488 18,978 14,485
Palm, cwts. 945,472 938,350 1,212,111 1,446,298 1,234,004
Seed oils, tuns 46,416 41,131 48,842 35,454 36,011
Oils. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908.
Cocoanut, cwts. 615,238 613,165 335,545 335,781 555,335
Palm, cwts. 1,309,176 1,144,368 1,223,787 1,508,023 1,317,995
The amounts of the chief edible oils and their value imported into this country during the three years ending 1909 were as follows:—
Imports
Oil. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1907. 1908. 1909.
Crude— £ £ £
Cocoanut, cwts. 357,815 555,335 502,408 634,357 757,812 752,257
Olive, tuns 7,391 6,330 4,788 287,254 243,497 241,905
Palm, cwts. 1,508,023 1,317,995 1,762,641 1,896,133 1,559,266 2,195,620
Refined—
Cocoanut, cwts. 118,903 203,077 177,085 223,522 323,334 315,690
Cotton-seed, tuns 14,226 15,251 117,560 365,512 401,506 482,139
Olive, tuns 4,937 5,822 4,186
Palm, cwts. 18,656 35,838 58,645 251,634 293,308 276,743
Butter, cwts. 4,210,156 4,210,821 4,062,833 22,417,926 24,080,912 22,425,067
Margarine, cwts. 885,068 813,447 868,292 2,223,645 2,081,245 2,243,737
Lard from U.S.A., cwts. 1,903,961 1,924,881 1,703,578 4,491,539 4,407,410 4,857,199
Lard from other
countries, cwts. 61,170 62,610 56,707
Imitation lard, cwts. 222,090 174,064 231,847 408,192 306,700 438,909
Exports
Oil, etc. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1907. 1908. 1909.
Crude— £ £ £
Cocoanut, cwts. 56,058 56,887 61,247 95,074 79,563 89,327
Olive, tuns 26 70 1,341 3,915
Palm, cwts. 4,946 415 1,787 7,568 543 2,554
Refined, 846,037 705,020 822,923
Butter, cwts. 12,305 10,045 9,214 68,591 59,324 54,825
Lard, cwts. 9,634 8,118 5,506 26,340 22,340 18,722
Imitation lard, cwts. 568 583 792 1,000 1,008 1,604
In the case of the crude oils mentioned in the above tables it is probable that the bulk was used for technical purposes.
Olive Oil.—Large quantities of foreign olive oil are imported into the French Riviera, the bulk coming from Italy and Tunis, and a small proportion from Spain, Turkey, Algiers, and Greece.
According to statistics published by Slaus-Kantschlieder (Chem. Rev. Fett- u. Harz-Ind., 1909, xvi. 223-231), the importations into Nice amounted to 8,264,900 kilos in 1907, as compared with 11,917,200 kilos in 1906.
The quantities of olive oil exported from Nice to various countries during the two years were as follows:—
Exported to— 1906. 1907.
Kilos. Kilos.
Austria-Hungary 351,000 370,000
Germany 748,000 749,000
Russia 436,000 624,000
England 234,000 206,000
Switzerland 313,000 289,000
Roumania 70,000 123,000
Servia 14,000 21,000
Bulgaria 4,600 5,200
Italian Trade in Olive Oil.—The Italian Customs authorities give the following details of the exports of refined and other grades of olive oil during the three years ending 1907, the quantities being in quintals (1 quintal = 220·46 lb.):—
Refined Olive Oil
Exported to— 1907. 1906. 1905.
Quintals. Quintals. Quintals.
United States 29,188 71,400 38,687
Austria-Hungary 28,998 22,203 7,752
Germany 15,690 11,132 5,490
Great Britain 5,861 9,432 4,102
Holland 12,648 73,519 8,403
Switzerland 7,626 11,294 6,936
Egypt 15,353 19,285 4,867
Other countries 8,536 8,894 4,900
Totals 123,900 227,159 81,137
Total values $1,471,122 $2,051,652 $945,600
Other Grades of Olive Oil
Exported to— 1907. 1906. 1905.
Quintals. Quintals. Quintals.
Austria-Hungary 19,013 25,834 18,293
France 60,766 116,312 43,191
Germany 17,793 21,222 11,058
Great Britain 25,000 29,739 22,184
Russia 26,677 22,854 29,765
Switzerland 7,124 8,819 5,668
Egypt 2,636 5,810 1,956
United States 82,198 95,258 52,577
Brazil 14,495 12,320 8,820
Argentina 90,347 109,194 58,256
Uruguay 9,402 8,190 3,893
Other countries 32,976 33,032 17,440
Totals 388,427 488,584 273,101
Total Values $9,370,801 $11,787,041 $6,852,104
Grand Totals 512,327 715,743 354,238
Grand Total Values $10,861,923 $13,838,693 $7,797,704
Spanish Oil Trade.—Some interesting details of the production of olive oil in Spain were given in the Board of Trade Journal for September 1907. The average output of the oil was estimated at 200,000 metric tons. In 1906 it amounted to 133,665 tons (metric), as against 149,249 tons in 1905. The deficiency in the crop of 1906 accounted for the falling off of the exports of oil in that year, though owing to the official pecuniary encouragement given to the manufacture of seed oils in Spain, there was not a corresponding increase in the importations of oils employed as substitutes for olive oil.
The imports of seed oils, cocoanut, and palm-nut oils and oil seeds into Spain, and the exports of olive oil during the years 1905 and 1906, and the first six months of 1907, were as follows:—
Spanish Oil Trade
1905. 1906. First six months of 1907.
Imports:— Metric tons. Metric tons. Metric tons.
Seed oil 684 895 330
Cocoanut and palm-nut oil 279 548 400
Oil seeds 39,526 45,233 32,917
Export:—
Olive oil 34,228 18,911 6,150
Vegetable Oil Trade in France.—The following details of the trade of France in vegetable oils are given by the Oil, Paint, and Drug Rep., April 4, 1910:—
During 1909, 141,080 metric tons of copra (cocoanut pulp) were imported into France as against 169,357 tons in 1908, and 110,008 tons in 1907, nearly the whole of the quantity going to Marseilles.
About 40 per cent. of the imports were from the Philippines, 29 per cent. from the Dutch Indies, 9 per cent. from British India, 8 per cent. from Mauritius, and the remainder from other countries.
The total values of oil products used in France in 1909 were officially estimated at £2,044,500, including—Arachis nuts, £4,511,000; linseed, £1,999,800; sesame seed, £892,000; mustard and Indian rape seed, £864,000; poppy seed, £399,800; and cotton-seed (chiefly Egyptian), £262,000.
The following figures show the imports of oil seeds into Marseilles during the three years:—
1907. 1908. 1909.
Tons. Tons. Tons.
Sesame 68,836 41,749 64,087
Arachis nuts, shelled 113,219 85,653 170,012
”” unshelled 123,304 102,188 155,056
Linseed 21,202 17,085 16,962
Rape and ravison 5,082 2,202 5,795
Poppy seed 4,106 2,334 2,356
Castor seed 16,370 18,111 11,553
Pulghere 520 709 1,818
Cotton-seed 15,884 14,497 14,249
Niger and kapok 6,351 3,701 5,118
Copra 109,744 163,999 136,655
Palm kernels 4,412 1,675 3,639
Mowhrah, illipé, etc. 12,781 11,146 8,856
Totals 501,811 465,049 596,156
The only oils imported in any quantities were cotton-seed, olive, and palm oils, the average importations of which during the last five years were:—
Tons.
Cotton-seed oil 24,000
Olive oil 22,000
Palm oil 16,000
The copra imported is chiefly used in the manufacture of soap, though about a third is manufactured into edible cocoanut oil and vegetable butters.
The cocoanut oil exported from Marseilles (chiefly to England, the United States, Switzerland, and Austria) amounted to 23,840 tons in 1909, while 22,726 tons were sent from Marseilles to other parts of France.
Cotton-Seed Oil in the United States.—The growth of the now gigantic cotton-seed oil industry in the United States is illustrated by the following figures given by the Oil, Paint, and Drug Rep., June 7, 1909, which show the production and exports of the seed and its product since 1872:—
Production of Cotton-Seed and Oil
Year ending June 30. Cotton-seed. Oil Produced. Cake and Meal Produced.
Produced. Manufactured.
Tons. Tons. Gallons. Tons.
1909 5,903,838 3,669,747 146,789,880 1,491,752
1908 4,952,402 2,564,873 103,049,820 1,043,080
1907 5,912,646 3,843,981 153,759,240 1,785,804
1906 5,060,205 3,131,175 125,700,928 1,271,740
1904 4,716,591 3,241,426 121,877,618 1,155,568
1902 4,630,311 3,154,417 118,606,079 1,124,550
1900 4,668,346 2,479,386 93,325,729 884,391
1890 3,494,811 873,702 34,948,000 305,800
1880 2,615,608 235,404 9,416,000 82,400
1875 1,686,516 84,325 3,373,000 29,500
1872 1,317,637 52,705 2,108,000 18,400
Exports
Year ending June 30.[2] Cotton-seed. Oil. Cake and Meal.
Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value.
Tons. $ Gallons. $ Tons. $
1909
1908 14,239 353,213 41,029,991 17,226,451 464,644 11,889,415
1907 8,814 209,493 41,880,304 17,074,403 670,484 17,062,594
1906 11,859 268,330 43,793,519 13,673,370 555,417 13,073,100
1904 6,430 141,174 29,013,743 10,717,280 410,175 9,134,088
1902 28,202 509,627 33,042,848 12,992,393 525,233 12,271,009
1900 24,928 346,230 46,902,390 14,127,538 571,852 11,229,188
1890 3,830 74,575 13,384,385 5,219,178 [3]
1880 6,071 134,116 6,997,796 3,225,414
1875 2,658 63,128 417,387 216,640
1872 3,180 72,212 547,165 293,546