December 1935

16 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS December 1935

Cottonseed—A Leading Cash Crop By Fletcher H. Rawls, Chief, and Charles E. Lund, Edible Oil Specialist, Foodstuffs Division OTTONSEED, which less than 80 years ago was Cottonseed gradually assumed greater economic C a worthless byproduct of growing cotton for its importance as markets, both here and abroad, were lint value, is today one of the important cash crops opened. By 1927, the production of seed reached the of the country. It is hardly conceivable that in 1857 high total of 7,989,000 tons, of which 6,306,000 tons, the State of Mississippi penalized gin owners for or 79 percent, were crushed. This seed yielded crude dumping cottonseed in waterways when it is consid- cottonseed products with a total value of $240,000,000. ered that in the year ended July 31, 1935, the value While that year represented the peak from a quantity of crude cottonseed products amounted to no less standpoint, the value of the seed was considerably than $178,000,000. The distribution of the value higher in the war and immediate post-war years of of crude cottonseed products in that year was as relatively high prices. In the year ended July 1919 follows: Cottonseed oil, $91,849,000; cake and meal, the value reached an all-time peak of $384,000,000. $54,023,000; hulls, $10,260,000; and linters, $21,606,000. The yield of cottonseed products has fluctuated in Thus, the seed has become of major importance, recent years largely in accordance with the size of the not only to the cotton growers, but to the entire cotton crop. For the past two seasons the amount edible and inedible oil industry. Even today, how- of cottonseed produced was substantially curtailed ever, a 10,000,000-bale cotton crop is commonly by reason of the agricultural adjustment program thought of in terms of that much lint cotton. How designed to bring lint cotton production more in line many persons not directly interested realize that a with consumptive requirements. cotton crop of this size yields, in addition to the lint, approximately 4% million tons of cottonseed, of which COTTON COTTONSEED about 80 percent is crushed, yielding roughly 1,000,000,- CENTS PER POUND 000 pounds of edible oil, 1,500,000 tons of 41 percent protein content meal or cake, 950,000 tons of hulls, and approximately 650,000 running bales of linters? In the year 1934-35, the farm value of the cottonseed was equivalent to one-fourth of the value of the lint. While the major importance of the seed is in its edible oil content, the other products have very

extensive uses. Cottonseed cake and meal, for exam- 19Z9 '30 '31 '32 '33 . '34 1935 1929 '30 '31 '32 '33 '34 1935 ple, are important feeds used by the cattle and dairy CROP YEAR ENDED JULY 31 industry and are also utilized to some extent as con- Chart I.—Average prices obtained by producers for lint cotton centrated feeds for hogs, sheep, horses, mules, and and cottonseed. poultry. Considerable quantities are also used for Comparative Price Trends fertilizer. The rapid decline and subsequent advance in the In addition to providing a roughage for livestock, the price obtained by producers for both cotton and cot- cottonseed hulls are used in such widely diversified tonseed since 1929 is shown on the accompanying chart industries as the manufacture of baseballs, horse I. It is apparent that the increase in the price of collars, and chemicals. Linters are used largely in the the seed from the lowest point in the depression has manufacture of explosives, rayon, cotton batting, felt been considerably more rapid than the increase in the for mattresses, in the paint and varnish industry, and price of lint cotton. Whereas the average price in the manufacture of such products as cellophane, obtained for lint has approximately doubled, the price bakelite, collodian, sausage casings, photographic received for seed in the crop year just passed was films, paper, plastics, and surgical dressings. three and one-half times as large as in the crop year Growth of the Cottonseed Oil Industry ended . In actual dollars the farm price of As late as 1875, only 5 percent of the cottonseed cottonseed has moved up from $9.51 per ton to produced was crushed; this portion of the crop yielded $34.76 per ton. This latter figure is only slightly products with a value of $2,530,000. It is interesting, below the amount realized in 1928-29, a year of rela- in view of the international character of the vegetable- tively high consumer purchasing power. oil industry at the present time, that one-eighth of the The rise in the price of cottonseed has been fostered 25,000,000 pounds of oil obtained in that early year not only by the drop in the quantity of cottonseed was exported. produced but also by the decline in the supply of Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis December 1935

December 1935 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS 17 competitive oils and competitive finished products for the first time in years we imported considerable which directly affected the demand and price of cotton- quantities—approximately 131,000,000 pounds of cot- seed oil and products. Chart II illustrates the effect tonseed oil and 50,000 tons of cake and meal. of these price changes on the value of cottonseed prod- Following the levying of an excise tax in , ucts. Notwithstanding the low yield in the year covering the first domestic processing of coconut, 1934-35, the total value of crude cottonseed products sesame, palm, palm kernel, sunflower, and whale oils, was almost exactly double the value of the crop and copra, imports of such products were temporarily harvested 2 years earlier. This chart also shows the reduced. The imports of oils (including the oil equiva- trend of the price of refined cottonseed oil during the lent of the copra imported) covered by the taxes were same period. cut by 323,000,000 pounds in the calendar year 1934, Since the cotton lint is usually mortgaged for produc- as compared with the year 1933. This reduction tion credit, the proceeds from the sale of the seed often occurred despite the heavy inflow in the final 2 months furnish the grower with his only immediate source of of the year. As a result of this curtailment of the cash income. In 1931-32 the value of the seed barely supply, the drought of 1934 which necessitated the covered the cost of the ginning. In the past year the slaughter of large numbers of emaciated livestock in value was sufficiently high to pay the cost of the gin- the United States, and other influences, there was a ning and to leave a substantial margin for the grower steady upward pressure on prices. The accompanying table reveals the extent of the rise in prices of selected

MILLIONS OP DOLLARS V77A ——CENTS PER POUND vegetable oils, lard, butter, and oleomargarine. 300 c •? yeiiow. MotAce ipor Yi RVALUE Wholesale Prices of Selected Vegetable Oils, Lard, Oleomargarine, and 250 10 Butter i L / [Dollars per pound] 200 I 8 Oleo- Cot- Butter / Coco- mar- Lard cream- 150 - 1 6 ton- Corn Peanut garine prime, - Year and month nut ery, seed oil oil oil stand- con- N. Y. i i oil ard, un- tract extra 1 100 i r—- **" y/ 4 colored 50 I i a 1934 January 0.047 0.028 0.036 0.038 0.070 0.057 0.199 February .051 .028 .043 .044 .070 .066 .256 i 0 March .051 .049 .253 o I .027 .047 .080 .067 1 April .052 .026 .047 .051 .073 .233 b .071 1929 I93C 1931 1932 1933 !934 1335 May .050 .245 I CROP YEAR ENDED JULY 3 i V/, .026 .046 .051 .070 .066 SOURCE: Deportment or Comm June ._ .053 .026 .048 .052 .078 .068 .248 July .059 .025 .053 .056 .080 .072 .246 Chart II.—The value of cottonseed products and trend of refined August .068 .027 .059 .059 .080 .090 .277 cottonseed oil prices. September .075 .029 .068 .069 .090 .102 .256 October .081 .033 .076 .074 .098 .101 .268 November .092 .031 .083 .082 .100 .112 .292 for use in settling for the picking and meeting other December.... .101 .035 .094 .094 .104 .122 1935 obligations. January .109 .044 .099 .101 .119 .136 .341 February .114 .052 .104 .103 .125 .143 .356 March .108 .058 .106 .105 .141 .144 .313 Foreign Trade in Cottonseed and Competing Oils April.... .103 .055 .095 .095 .140 .138 ,340 May .105 .054 .090 .095 .140 .141 .269 The export market has for many years provided an June .101 .046 .090 .094 .140 .147 .241 July .096 .038 .088 .089 .135 .151 .237 outlet for considerable quantities of both cottonseed August .099 .038 .090 .090 .130 .168 .248 September .102 .042 .091 .095 .130 .169 .260 oil and cake and meal. The 300,000,000-pound oil October .104 .048 .094 .095 .142 .151 .278 export figure was reached just before the beginning of 1 Quotations at , except for peanut oil (mill price) and oleomargarine (Chicago). the present century. The peak export year was in Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. S. Department of Labor. 1912 when more than 399,000,000 pounds of oil and 647,000 tons of cake and meal were sent abroad. The By , prices were high enough so that volume declined in the war years and those immedi- it became possible for foreign oils to surmount the trade ately thereafter, although in the crop year ended July barriers which had curtailed the inflow from May to 1921, the amount of oil exported was 283,000,000 October of that year. As a consequence, the import pounds. situation during the current year has differed radically Cottonseed oil and some other foreign competing from that prevailing during a large part of 1934. Oils oils were placed on the dutiable list by the Tariff Act not covered by the 1934 Revenue Act also joined in of 1921. Since then world trade barriers of various the flow to this country from November 1934 onward. forms have been set up in all important countries for In the year ended July 31, 1935, vegetable-oil im- the purpose of increasing the use of domestic fats and ports increased 231,000,000 pounds, and imports of oils. In 1922, our exports of cottonseed oil dropped oil-bearing seeds increased 74,000,000 pounds. Assum- below 100,000,000 pounds, and since 1928 they have ing that the oil is crashed from all the oil-bearing seeds, been below 50,000,000 pounds. For the 1934-35 the total increase in imports, on an oil basis, for the season, exports were less than 5,500,000 pounds, and 1934-35 season, amounted to 248,000,000 pounds of

Digitized for FRASER 31476—35 3 http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis December 1935

18 SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS December 1935 cottonseed and all other vegetable oils. The import the consumption of certain competitive oils, notably movement was heavy in the latter half of the year peanut, soybean, palm-kernel, sesame, and fish oils, ended July 31,1935 and has continued in large volume has increased in 1935 relatively more rapidly than the during the first quarter of the current crop year. total factory consumption. Similarly, imports of tallow amounted to 219,000,000 Increased Use in Margarine Production pounds in the year 1934-35, whereas the amount im- For the fiscal year ended June 30, 1935, margarine ported in the preceding season was negligible. These production, as reported by the Bureau of Internal additions to the domestic supply were needed for the Revenue, consumed 96,000,000 pounds of cottonseed manufacture of soap, although tallow also found in- oil as compared to 24,000,000 pounds for the previous creasing use in edible channels during the year. In fiscal year, an increase of 300 percent. The total years of normal tallow production, considerable quan- margarine production rose from 243,187,000 pounds tities are exported. in 1933-34 to 354,773,000 pounds in 1934-35, an Notable exceptions to the general trend of imports in increase of 46 percent. The 1934 drought and the the year 1934-35 were provided by copra and coconut agricultural adjustment program, which resulted in a oil from the Philippines. The decreases in such prod- smaller production of butter and lard and in rising ucts amounted to 86,000,000 pounds for coconut oil prices, were the principal factors influencing the in- and 117,000,000 pounds for copra (oil basis). creased sale of margarine. With reduced coconut- In summary, while exports during the year 1934-35 oil imports, cottonseed oil displaced what would declined, the domestic market for fats and oils pro- normally have been a correspondingly increased use vided not only an adequate outlet for the domestic of the former in margarine production. supply but for a large volume of imports as well. Cottonseed and Other Principal Oils Used in the Production of Domestic Use. Compounds and Vegetable Shortening i [Thousands of pounds] As cottonseed oil has successfully competed in the higher-priced edible field, only a small quantity of the 1931 1932 1933 1934 oil retained for domestic use goes into inedible chan- Cottonseed oil 928, 489 834,367 852,843 1,058, 733 nels. In the calendar year 1934, according to the Coconut oil 34,132 8,332 7,117 9,045 Palm oil 34,536 22,126 21,116 16,717 statistics of the Bureau of the Census, only about Tallow, edible 69, 548 45, 708 46,437 73,416 Animal stearine, edible 27, 220 17,357 17,105 21,517 6,000,000 pounds of cottonseed oil were used for the Fish oils 16, 676 11,520 9,272 10, 775 production of inedible products, such as soap, while Lard. ____ 8,860 5, 636 3,171 2,635 approximately 1,000,000,000 pounds were used in the Total, all fats and oils 1,208,142 968, 577 972,142 1, 214, 742 manufacture of compounds and vegetable shortenings, 1 Calendar years. approximately 55,000,000 pounds in margarine, and Source: Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce. 155,000,000 pounds in other edible products, such as Need of Price Data Based on Standards packing oil, dressings, and mayonnaise. Manufacturers are alert in developing uses and The importance of cottonseed oil compared with markets for the various cottonseed products, which, competitive oils consumed in factory operations is in turn, result in a better market for cottonseed. But shown by data from the Bureau of the Census. the industry is still in a somewhat confused condition, owing to unavoidable speculative conditions surround- 1 Cottonseed and Competing Oils Used in Factory Production ing the marketing of cottonseed and finished products. [Thousands of pounds] The future progress of the industry and the mainte- 9 months 9 months, 1931 1932 1933 1934 nance of a satisfactory relationship between the growers 1934 1935 and manufacturers would be fostered, no doubt, by

Cottonseed oil 1,140,799 1,, 083,959 1,114,846 1, 377,437 986,028 956,739 the establishment of a system of trading on official Coconut oil— 592,684 549,515 583,826 589, 602 451, 238 436, 744 Fish oils 120,733 93,685 106,247 126,480 85,291 161,033 standards and the collection and dissemination of Palm oil 235, 585 208, 547 232, 619 191,738 155,438 180,136 Tallow, edible 71,885 48, 555 51,447 78,909 55,724 91, 765 adequate trade information. The available price data Peanut oil 13, 543 8,872 14,999 4,434 80,775 Soybean oil 27,885 25, 269 22,958 20,907 12,401 69,035 on cottonseed at the present time, while fairly repre- Palm kernel oil 54,059 16, 615 15,962 22, 601 14,692 41,919 Corn oil 42, 819 42,414 43,946 61,094 45,910 41,562 sentative and indicative of the monthly trend, are Oleooil - 31,371 15, 765 19, 061 26,137 39, 229 39,042 Sesame oil 44, 778 10, 514 13,834 7,403 5,971 33,443 not promptly available to the growers in the hundreds Animal stearine, edible- 33,144 24, 251 25,421 28, 703 20,013 24,364 of places where cottonseed is bought and sold and hence Lard - 22, 27" 19, 340 17,485 14, 260 11,391 7,558 Total, all fats and are of rather limited use. Generally, the growers are oils 3,771,469 3,355,555 3, 514,641 4,028,003 2,983,716 3,298, 836 dependent for price information on the amount obtain-

1 able for seed in their immediate localities. Calendar years. Source: Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce. The establishment of a source of current price infor- mation from which growers and manufacturers could It will be noted that cottonseed oil constitutes readily obtain data on what is happening in the mar- approximately one-third of all oils and fats used in kets, not only for cottonseed but also for cottonseed factory operations in the production of both edible products, would constitute an important step forward Digitized for FRASER and inedible products. It will be readily seen that in the direction of orderly marketing. http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis