Before the war about half the cacao imported into the United Kingdom was grown in British possessions. During the war more and more British cacao was imported, and now that a preferential duty of seven shillings per hundredweight has been given to British Colonial growths we shall probably see a still higher percentage of British cacao consumed in the United Kingdom. VALUE OF CACAO BEANS IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM (TO NEAREST L1,000). Total value of Cacao From British Possessions. Year. Beans Imported. _Value._ _Per cent._ 1913 L2,199,000 L1,158,000 52.7 1914 L2,439,000 L1,204,000 49.4 1915 L5,747,000 L3,546,000 61.7 1916 L6,498,000 L4,417,000 68.0 1917 L3,498,000 L3,010,000 86.0 1918 L3,040,000 L2,549,000 83.8 1919 L9,207,000 L6,639,000 72.1 That the consumption of cacao is expected to grow greater yet in the immediate future is reflected in the prices of raw cacao, which, as soon as they were no longer fixed by the Government, rose rapidly, thus Accra cacao rose from 65s. per hundredweight to over 90s. per hundredweight in a few weeks, and now (January, 1920) stands at 104s. (See diagram p. 113). _World Consumption._ The world's consumption of cacao is steadily rising. Before the war the United States, Germany, Holland, Great Britain, France, and Switzerland were the principal consumers. Whilst we have increased our consumption, so that Great Britain now occupies second place, the United States has outstripped all the other countries, having doubled its consumption in a few years, and is now taking almost as much as all the rest of the world put together. It is thought that since America has "gone dry" this remarkably large consumption is likely to be maintained. WORLD'S CONSUMPTION OF CACAO BEANS. (to the nearest thousand tons) 1 ton = 1000 kilograms. _Pre-war_ _War Period_ _Post-war_ Average of 1913. 1914, 5, 6,& 7. 1918. 1919. Country. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons.