CO129-371 - Public Offices - 1910 — Page 451

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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]

AFFAIRS OF CHINA,

CONFIDENTIAL.

[7033]

(No. 45.) Sir,

No. 1.

[February 28,O

SECTION 1.

Rege 4 APR 10

Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.---(Received February 28.)

Peking, February 8, 1910. WITH reference to my despatch No. 454 of the 8th December last, in which I forwarded particulars furnished by the acting consul-general at Mukden regarding the development of the bean trade in Manchuria, I have the honour to enclose here- with copy of a despatch which I have received from His Majesty's vice-consul at Harbin on the same subject.

Mr. Sly's report contains further information in regard to the participation of British firms in this trade, and observations on a recent interesting article from the

Economist,"* copy of which is enclosed with his despatch.

I have, &c.

W. G. MAX MÜLLER.

Enclosure in No. 1.

(No. 1.) Sir,

Acting Consul Sly to Sir J. Jordan.

Harbin, January 31, 1910. VARIOUS particulars in regard to the development of the bean trade in Manchuria have already been furnished you by Mr. Willis, the acting consul-general at Mukden. I have now the honour to enclose herewith copy of an article in connection with the bean industry which appeared in the "Economist" of the 4th December last. I give the article in extenso, judging that, though it may not be strictly accurate in every particular, the light which it throws upon the importance of the Soya oil bean to English oil and cake manufacturers is sufficient apology for its length.

A reference may be permitted to a few notable points, viz. :---

1. Owing to the prohibitive import duties on oil seeds in America and on the continent of Europe, Great Britain at present enjoys in the West a practical monopoly of the trade. Her only serious competitors are Japan and China in the East.

2. The Soya bean has come into strong competition with cottonseed, linseed, and other oleaginous seeds, yielding, as it does, a thicker oil at a cheaper cost, the difference in price, I am told, as compared with the best decorticated American cottonseed oil being as much as 25 to 30 per cent. Its two chief competitors are cottonseed and linseed, and it will be noted that the price of Soya oil manufactured in England has risen in sympathy with the scarcity and high cost of cottonseed and linseed oils.

3. The oil when expressed from the bean is mainly used in the manufacture of soap; the residue is made into cakes and furnishes excellent cattle fodder. Thus, Denmark is stated to have contracted for shipments from Manchuria during the present season amounting to 25,000 to 30,000 tons. Experiment has shown that there was no justification for the fear that the taste of butter would be affected by feeding cows with the Soya bean.

4. It is stated that beancake represents 90 per cent. of the raw material. Information given to me locally is to the effect that the percentage of oil yielded may be 10, 15, 18, or 20 per cent., but that it is a condition of the trade in the United Kingdom that the cake shall contain 6 per cent. of oil and 11 per cent. of albumenoids. 5. Attention is drawn to the importance of beancake to Japan as a fertiliser, and, according to the figures given, the import into that country rose from 182,000 tons in 1905 to 600,000 tons in 1909. Some confusion is, however, apparent in the mind of the writer as to the position of Manchuria, which he appears to treat as a country separate from China, and I have heard doubt expressed as to the reliability of the statistics furnished by the Mitsui Company.

• Not printed.

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