Author: H. Martin Leake

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2018-01-02

Total Pages: 46

ISBN-13: 9780428197445

Excerpt from Report on the Maintenance and Improvement of the Quality of Egyptian Cotton and the Increase of Its Yield, 1920 We have here, I think, the first consideration that must be clearly borne in mind when approaching the problem from the producers' standpoint. Production is, and must continue to be, diverse. Notonly so, but the various classes require to be produced in quantities approximating to the relative demand. Only so will the full intrinsic value for any particular class be realized. The argument applies equally to the lower, as to the higher, qualities; over-production within the class leads to a low, while under-production leads to a high, price. The step from over to under-production is, fortunately, sufficiently large owing to the flexibility of the market, and this flexibility we must now consider a little more in detail. The substitution of superior quality cotton to do the work of inferior can naturally-be more readily adopted than the reverse process. The market, therefore, shows greatest flexibility in this direction. But such substitution will only take place, in the absence of any large shortage in total supply, when the price of the superior quality renders the proposition a paying one financially. Such conditions only hold good when the price Of superior quality is relatively low or, in other words, when the superior quality is fetching less than its intrinsic value. Such a condition implies a definite loss to the producer. In a country like Egypt, which possesses a monopoly in the production of certain classes of cotton, this probably implies a considerable total loss, since the reduction in price affects the entire out-turn Of the superior quality and not merely that portion which is used as a substitute. The rapidity with which Sakel has replaced other forms in cultivation in Lower Egypt affords an instance of this phenomenon. There is no doubt in my mind that the production of Sakel is far in excess of the demand for the manufacture of those types of thread for which it is peculiarly adapted. Its use has, therefore, been extended to other lines, for which it is not so pre-eminently suited, and such extension has been effected at the expense of the producer, in as far as Sakel is worth less per unit than it would be were only sufficient available to meet the needs Of that market which requires the qualities peculiar to Sakel. The present demand is, in fact, a forced one, due to the fact that, even at the depreciated price, the money return for the unit area of production is greater than that given by any other form. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.