The Cost of Production
Most of the Kickxia plantations are laid out on land which has been cleared of jungle, a process which does not entail a heavy outlay. The expenses, including all costs for inspection, tools, labour, &c., amount to about £10 per acre. A fair supply of native labour is available, and the average wage, including board, is about £10 per annum. The cost of the upkeep of the planted areas should not exceed 30s. per acre for the first year, 22s. 6d. per acre for the second year, and 18s. 6d. and 10s. for the third and fourth years respectively. The estimated inclusive cost of tapping the trees and delivering the produce in Europe should not exceed 1s. 3d. per lb. The value of Kickxia rubber, if properly prepared, is almost equal to that of the best Para rubber, and it is certainly safe to estimate that it will always fetch within 1s. of Para. These figures compare very favourably with those obtaining in other plantations, and they are given here as an indication that in its rubber exports alone the Cameroon territory has a profitable future before it.
In considering the question as to whether Germany will ever be in a position to supply her own demands in rubber from her own colonies, Dr. Paul Preuss, writing in the India Rubber Journal, says that it depends on three factors: (1) Soil, (2) Climate, (3) Labour. “Regarding soil,” he says, “the Colonies of Cameroon and New Guinea alone possess several hundred thousand acres of land suited for the cultivation of the most valuable rubber trees. The climate there is also very favourable. Taking the annual requirements of Germany in rubber at 16,000 tons, this quantity can be produced from an area of 150,000 to 170,000 acres exclusively planted with Hevea, and from 200,000 to 250,000 acres under cultivation with the various species already planted, but with Hevea predominating. Even if the demand for the raw material should considerably increase, the answer to this question would be an affirmative as regards soil and climate; whether, however, with the accompanying development in the cultivation of cacao, cotton, cocoa-nut and oil-palms, &c., the necessary labour will be procurable for such an extension in rubber cultivation, the question cannot be answered.” It has been stated that in the coming years, when the rubber plantations are ready for tapping, and the tobacco plantations are demanding the services of thousands of natives, the insufficiency of labour will prove a serious problem, and the importation of Chinese labour was submitted to the consideration of the German Government as a feasible solution.