as already pointed out, the demand in the Continent of Europe is increasing, a fact which may lead to the transfer to Continental markets of considerable quantities of Canary supplies at present consigned to the United Kingdom. It should also be added that under the recent Trade Agreement between Canada and the West Indies arrangements are being made to provide transport to Canada for supplies of West Indian bananas. With this we deal in more detail later. Here it is sufficient to point to the fact that the world demand for bananas is undoubtedly increasing. On the other hand, production is hampered, largely owing to the disease to which the Gros Michel variety is liable. It is clear, therefore, that from the point of view of the United Kingdom market alone greatly increased production within the Empire is most desirable. VII.-Empire Production for the United Kingdom. 20. In so far as supplying the United Kingdom market from within the Empire is concerned, the banana problem divides itself geographically into three main areas : (i) Jamaica and British Honduras, where cultivation is already in existence. (ii) Other British West Indian Colonies not at present growing bananas on a commercial scale (mainly Trinidad, St. Lucia and Grenada, and possibly Dominica), and British Guiana. (iii) British West African Colonies, where the banana is grown in almost every village, but where cultivation on a commercial scale for export has not been attempted. 21. In each case the problem again divides itself into three stages: (i) Production in the territories mentioned. 22. Only in Jamaica and British Honduras is production on an extensive commercial scale at present taking place. In these territories, however, there are special difficulties. In Jamaica the marketing of the fruit, so far as the United Kingdom is concerned, is in the hands of a monopoly owning the only vessels suitable for the carriage of bananas to the United Kingdom. In British Honduras the spread of disease has been so disastrous that the output has been seriously reduced. In St. Lucia and Grenada cultivation on a limited scale is taking place, and there are possibilities of considerably extended development. In Trinidad and British Guiana the possibility of commercial production definitely depends upon the discovery of a type of banana immune to Panama disease. VIII.-Transport and Marketing. 23. We see no real difficulty in the matter of transport from Empire sources provided that adequate and regular supplies are forthcoming in the different producing areas. Once such supplies are available we are convinced, as the result of discussions we have had with various shipping interests, that the establishment of the necessary shipping service will involve no difficulty in principle, and could be organised without the necessity of any subsidy or guarantee from His Majesty's Government. We are led to believe, however, that a shipping company would be unwilling to begin operations until definite supplies had been assured and that it would not be worth its while to call for part cargoes unless there was the possibility of completing such cargoes at a neighbouring source of supply. This raises the question of local guarantees to which we shall refer later. 24. Similarly in regard to marketing in the United Kingdom we see no difficulty in principle, provided that regular and adequate supplies can be assured. Traders at present receiving supplies from Messrs. Elders & Fyffes would naturally not be willing to transfer their custom to another organisation unless the new body was able to maintain supplies the year through, for we have been given to understand that such traders might fear that once they had terminated their arrangements with the organisation which at present has control of the whole supplies they would experience considerable difficulty in being reinstated and obtaining further supplies of bananas from that body. We may say that various reliable marketing interests have signified their willingness to undertake full responsibility for the marketing arrangements and we do not apprehend any difficulty even in the event of the competition which such action might invite. 25. We are convinced, therefore, that the crux of the whole problem is one of production and, indeed, the solution of the particular problem of Jamaica is also directly connected with the question of production, not in Jamaica but in neighbouring Colonies, so as to ensure a complementary source of supply on British territory in the event of the Jamaican crop being inadequate owing to hurricane, disease, or the demands of other markets. We have therefore, in the survey which follows, concentrated on questions of production. IX. Jamaica. 26. We wish first to deal with the problem of Jamaica, which at the present time is the only source of supply on British territory producing bananas for export to the United Kingdom on a commercial scale. The following figures extracted from a statement made by the Director of Agriculture in Jamaica to the West Indian Agricultural Conference in 1924 give the number of bunches exported and the value for the period 1902 to 1923. We have added similar figures for the year 1924 : 27. Production during this period has been fairly regular, although broken on occasions by hurricanes and generally depressed during the war. So far as these figures show, the effect of hurricanes in Jamaica has never been to destroy the whole crop. It has, however, resulted in a considerable reduction in the quantity exported. The reduced output during the war years was probably due to other factors as well as hurricanes, such as the limitation by the United States Government of imports into that country, the shortage of shipping, and similar temporary difficulties. X.-Interests Marketing Jamaican Fruit. 28. The bulk of the bananas produced in Jamaica is marketed in the United States. The shortness of the journey makes it possible for the fruit to be shipped there without the use of refrigerated tonnage and the trade is therefore shared by a number of interests. While it is true, as we have said, that so far as the United Kingdom is concerned, the supply of bananas is the monopoly of a company subject to the control of a United States organisation, in Jamaica this organisation has competitors in the purchase of supplies. 29. The two companies principally interested in the marketing. of Jamaican fruit are the United Fruit Company and the Atlantic Fruit Company, both United States corporations. In addition to these large organisations there are also the Jamaican Fruit and Shipping Company and some smaller concerns. We have been informed in evidence that in 1924 these companies exported from Jamaica the following quantities of fruit :— All the above organisations purchase fruit from producers or through established agencies. In addition, the United Fruit Company and the Atlantic Fruit Company own plantations on which they grow their own fruit. 30. The countries to which Jamaican supplies were sent in 1924 were as follows: XI. Operations of United Fruit Company in Jamaica. 31. The development of the banana trade in Jamaica has been largely due to the efforts of the United Fruit Company which started business as the Boston Fruit Company. Its main interest is that of supplying the United States market. 32. So far as the United Kingdom is concerned, the marketing of Jamaican bananas was begun by Messrs. Elder Dempster, a line under the control of Sir Alfred Jones, with whom a contract was entered into by His Majesty's Government on the 19th April, 1900. To encourage the development of the trade and to maintain a shipping service between Jamaica and the United Kingdom, the contract provided that a subsidy of £40,000 a year, supplied in equal shares by the United Kingdom and Jamaica, should be paid to the shipping company under certain conditions for a period of 10 years. One of these conditions was that a minimum of 20,000 bunches of bananas a fortnight should be carried from Jamaica by the shipping service. In the early days of the trade the British line suffered heavy losses owing to the fact that this variety of banana had not yet become popular in the United Kingdom, to the lack of scientific knowledge as to the best methods of carrying and storing bananas, and to disasters in the form of hurricanes in Jamaica. In August, 1903, there was a severe hurricane which reduced the output in the following year by 50 per cent. The British company was compelled to have recourse to the United Fruit Company to maintain its supplies to the United Kingdom marketing interests. From that date the American organisation has enjoyed a virtual. monopoly of the United Kingdom trade in the fruit from the western hemisphere. 33. On the other hand, as the statistics in the preceding section of this Report show, the United Fruit Company has no monopoly of purchase in Jamaica. We are aware, from the evidence which we have had, that the operations of the company are the subject of considerable complaint by the inhabitants of Jamaica. We recognise, as we state later, that the Jamaican producers suffer from an undoubted disability in the fact that they are unable to ship their fruit by a "free" line to the United Kingdom for marketing through independent channels. We feel, however, that, in fairness to the United Fruit Company, it is only right to point out that there is another side to the picture. We have had evidence that the operations of the Company have proved of benefit to the Island and its inhabitants. We have been informed that the plantations which it owns are amongst the best equipped and most up-to-date on the Island, and we are told that it has paid consistent attention to sanitation, water supplies, and the social welfare of its employees. In addition to the benefit which the actual trade carried on by the Company has conferred upon the Island, it maintains a passenger service and hotels, which add to the amenities of the Colony. XII. The Importance of a "Free" Shipping Service from Jamaica to the United Kingdom. 34. Nevertheless, Jamaican growers not unnaturally complain that there is no "free" service between Jamaica and the United Kingdom. As we have already mentioned, Messrs. Elders and Fyffes, the owners of the only refrigerated line serving the island and the Home Country, are themselves buyers of the fruit and control its marketing in the United Kingdom. While this |