Prices and Quotations
The price of cacao is liable to fluctuations like every other product, thus in 1907 Trinidad cacao rose to one shilling a pound, whilst there have been periods when it has only fetched sixpence per pound. On April 2nd, 1918, the Food Controller fixed the prices of the finest qualities of the different varieties of raw cacao as follows:
| British West Africa (Accra) | 65s. per cwt. | |
| Bahia Cameroons San Thomé Congo Grenada | \ | } | / | 85s. ″ ″ |
| Trinidad Demerara Guayaquil Surinam | \ } / | 90s. ″ ″ |
| Ceylon Java Samoa | \ } / | 100s. ″ ″ |
The diagram on p. 113 shows the average market price in the United Kingdom of some of the more important cacaos before, during, and after the war. The most striking change is the sudden rise when the Government control was removed. All cacaos showed a substantial advance varying from 80 to 150 per cent. on pre-war values. Further large advances have taken place in the early months of 1920.