Chapter X: Production and Consumption

Fifty years ago a supply of 150,000 tons of all kinds of coffee was considered sufficient to meet the entire demand of Europe and America combined. In 1848, however, these two continents alone consumed upwards of 250,000 tons, which had increased in 1868 to 375,000 tons, and in 1888 to over 700,000 tons, or more than double that of fifty years before.

TABLE I.

WORLD’S PRODUCTION (ESTIMATED).

Weight
Countries. in Tons.
Liberia and all other Countries on the West Coast of Africa, 19,500
Abyssinia and all other Countries on the East Coast of Africa, 20,000
Natal and Cape of Good Hope, 300
Arabia, Bourbon and Mauritius, 15,000
British India and Ceylon, 30,500
Java, Sumatra and Celebes, 60,000
Bali, Timour and other Islands in the Malayan Archipelago, 10,000
Philippine, Fiji and Samoa Islands, 11,000
Sandwich and all other Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, 1,200
Cuba and Porto Rico, 25,000
Hayti and San Domingo, 15,000
Jamaica and other Islands in the West Indies, 18,000
Mexico and Central America, 80,000
Venezuela and Colombia, 50,000
Equador and Bolivia, 15,000
Brazil and other Countries in South America, 500,000
-------
Grand total, 875,500

Or about 1,800,000,000 pounds per annum, the value of which averages over $275,000,000 wholesale, according to its market price at time of sale.

TABLE II.

WORLD’S CONSUMPTION (ESTIMATED).

Weight
Countries. in Tons.
Asia, 40,000
Africa, 25,000
Australia, 5,000
Continent of Europe, 430,000
Great Britain and Ireland, 15,000
United States and Canada, 275,000
Mexico and Central America, 20,000
West India Islands, 15,000
Brazil and South American Countries, 40,000
-------
Total, 865,000

Which shows that, in recent years, the world’s supply has not kept pace with the growing demand throughout the civilized world.

TABLE III.

Showing the average annual consumption in the United States, imported principally as follows:--

Country. Tons. Per Cent.
Brazil, 150,000 75.00
Venezuela, 20,000 5.00
Mexico, 10,000 4.00
Central America, 5,000 2.00
West India Islands, 10,000 4.00
India and Ceylon, 1,000 1.00
Arabia and Africa, 10,000 5.00
Java and Sumatra, 10,000 4.00
------- ------
Total, 216,000 100.00

TABLE IV.

Showing where United States receives supplies of coffee from in general and the various kinds consumed:--

Country. Pounds.
Africa, 25,000,000
Arabia, 10,000,000
England, 5,000,000
Holland, 5,000,000
Germany, 250,000
Belgium, 80,000
Portugal and Spain, 150,000
Brazil, 400,000,000
Canada, 500
Mexico, 10,000,000
Venezuela, 35,000,000
Colombia, 15,000,000
Equador and Bolivia, 1,000,000
West India Islands, 5,000,000
British and Dutch Guiana, 1,500,000
Malayan Archipelago, 25,000,000
British India and Ceylon, 5,000,000
Philippine and Pacific Islands, 10,000
Sandwich and other Islands, 75,000
Azores and Cape Verde Islands, 1,500
French Possessions in Africa, Madagascar and Bourbon, 1,500
----------
Total importation, 600,000,000
Total value, $80,000,000

Which, according to the Bureau of Statistics, is about 9 pounds _per capita_, valued at $1.15 per head, for every man, woman and child in the United States, while it has been ascertained that the consumption of coffee has declined in England in the past ten years to less than one pound _per capita_ of the population as against an increase in the consumption of tea from 6 to 8 pounds.

TABLE V.

Showing _per capita_ consumption of the principal countries of the world in round numbers:--

Countries. Consumption Per Capita
(Pounds). (Pounds).
Asia, 80,000,000 ----
Africa, 50,000,000 1
Australia, 10,000,000 2
Austria, 10,000,000 2¹⁄₂
Belgium, 50,000,000 10
Denmark, 25,000,000 6
France, 100,000,000 2¹⁄₂
Germany, 180,000,000 5
Greece, 2,000,000 0¹⁄₂
Holland, 70,000,000 14
Italy, 30,000,000 1
Switzerland, 20,000,000 5
Russia and Siberia, 15,000,000 ----
Sweden and Norway, 35,000,000 10
Great Britain and Ireland, 35,000,000 1
United States and Canada, 600,000,000 6
Mexico and Central America, 35,000,000 3
West India Islands, 30,000,000 5
South American States, 100,000,000 3

What tea is to the United Kingdom coffee is to the United States, the consumption of the latter in this country increasing from 80,000,000 pounds in 1861 to 116,000,000 in 1871, and to over 400,000,000 pounds in 1881, the consumption of coffee, at the present time in this country, falling just short of the enormous figures of 600,000,000 pounds.

The use of coffee has been extending at an enormous rate for the past 150 years, until at the present day it is found in every civilized country and almost every uncivilized country on the habitable globe. It has become one of the corner-stones of civilization. As has been well said by one writer, it smoothes the troubled soul, heals all family feuds, fits one for the annoyances of business, and organizes a truce between the man who drinks it and all the troubles and cares of life. The United States is without doubt a nation of coffee-drinkers, the average annual consumption reaching upwards of 600,000,000 pounds, or nearly ten pounds _per capita_ of the entire population.

Up to 1860 there was a wide disparity between the production and consumption of coffee throughout the civilized world, the former remaining stationary while the latter continued to increase rapidly until the civil war, which caused a reduction in this country of nearly 200,000 tons per annum, thus re-establishing the relative difference between the laws of supply and demand. With the close of the rebellion, the United States, however, and a reduction of the duty, the consumption again steadily increased, exceeding in a short time the increase in the production, causing a steady advance in prices from 1869 to 1880, the extreme advance in prices in the latter year naturally stimulated and increased production until stocks accumulated largely and prices again declined accordingly. During the period from 1880-87, planters and dealers suffered greatly, many disastrous failures among both classes following as a consequence. The consumption meanwhile continued to increase steadily, as did also the production, owing to the yield of new plantations previously opened under the stimulus of the high prices prevailing in 1880, fair relations between the production and consumption being to the present maintained.

The history of tariff legislation on coffee in the United States may be summed up in the following sequence: The first duty on coffee was levied in 1789, which was 2¹⁄₂ cents per pound. In 1790 this was increased to 4 cents, and again to 5 cents in 1794, being retained at the latter figure until 1812, when it was increased to 10 cents, owing to the increased expenditures of the government, due to the war with England. At the close of this war, in 1814, the duty was reduced to 5 cents per pound, remaining at the latter figure until 1828, when it was still further reduced to 2 cents; in 1830, to 1 cent, being removed altogether in 1832, and placed for the first time on the free list. No tax was again placed on coffee until the beginning of the civil war in 1861, when a duty of 4 cents per pound was levied on it, which was shortly after increased to 5 cents, at which figure it remained until 1871, when it was reduced to 3 cents, the duty being entirely removed from coffee in 1872, since which year it has remained uninterruptedly on the free list.

During the years from 1832 to 1861, when coffee was entered free of duty, it ruled lower in price and increased more in consumption than it had at any previous period, the _per capita_ consumption increasing from three pounds in 1830, to nearly six pounds in 1860, the quantity imported into the United States in the latter year reaching nearly 236,000,000 pounds, being valued at $21,500,000, the three following years showing an average annual importation of about 220,600,000 pounds, valued at $21,000,000. In 1855 fair Rio averaged 11 cents per pound; Maracaibo, 12 cents, and Java, 14¹⁄₂ cents; these being the three principal then in demand in the American market, while in 1860 the range was considerably higher and the consumption correspondingly less, Rios averaging 13³⁄₄ cents; Maracaibos, 14¹⁄₂ cents; and Javas, 16¹⁄₂ cents. These prices continuing to advance until 1863-4, when the prices of coffee ruled exceptionally high, owing to the war duty of 5 cents per pound; the figures averaging in 1863 31 cents for Rio, 32 cents for Maracaibo, and 37 cents for Java, increasing in 1864 to 42¹⁄₂ cents for Rio, 43 cents for Maracaibo, and 49 cents for Java. From 1864 to 1880, however, there was a steady decline in the prices of coffee, there being at the same time a correspondingly steady increase in its consumption. The prices ruling for the three leading kinds of coffee in the American market, from 1880 to 1890, is as follows, per pound:--

Rio. Maracaibo. Java.
Year. Cents. Cents. Cents.
1880 16 16¹⁄₂ 23¹⁄₂
1881 12¹⁄₂ 13 18
1882 9³⁄₄ 10¹⁄₂ 16
1883 10¹⁄₂ 11 17¹⁄₂
1884 11 11¹⁄₄ 16¹⁄₂
1885 9 10¹⁄₄ 15¹⁄₂
1886 10³⁄₄ 10¹⁄₂ 16³⁄₄
1887 8¹⁄₂ 10 16
1888 16¹⁄₂ 16¹⁄₂ 20
1889 19 20 22
1890 18 20 22

In many of the years from 1870 to 1880, Java, which is regarded as the standard coffee, sold less than Maracaibo; the latter frequently selling for less than Rio, which is considered the lowest in the scale during the same period. In 1875, however, the imports again increased to 300,000,000 pounds, valued at $51,000,000. Taking the population in 1856 at 27,000,000 and in 1875 at 42,000,000, it will be noticed that the increase in quantity of imports was only 34 per cent., 21 per cent. less than the increase of population for the same period, while the increase in value was 146 per cent. meantime. Figures which serve conclusively to prove that while low prices tend to increase consumption, high prices only serve to retard it. About 1883 new factors in the buying and selling of coffee appeared, coffee exchanges been opened in Havre, Hamburg and New York, which created large transactions in “options,” some of them becoming enormous in their magnitude, and against which considerable quantities of coffee must be held, the operations for future deliveries reaching as high as 22,000,000 bags in 1887. This enormous increase in the transactions of that year was due entirely to a short crop report and to the active speculation based thereon. The continued increase in consumption and the increased demand for stocks held against the trading in options not being met by a corresponding increase in the production of the article, added to the serious injury to the crops in Java by leaf disease and in Brazil by blight, having still further disturbed the relations between the established laws of supply and demand.

APPENDIX.