In 1890 Guatemala was producing barely enough sugar for its own consumption. In 1904 it exported 6,000,000 pounds to the United States. New Orleans is the nearest market, though shipments also may be made to Brooklyn. The product consists of white loaf sugar, panela or coarse brown cakes, from which the cane rum is made, miel or molasses, and mascabado, or inferior grades. The sugar cane is of excellent quality and the production is abundant, especially along the hot coast districts. The departments of Escuintla, Amatitlan, and Baja Verapaz are the districts in which the largest areas are under cultivation. As a rule the small sugar mills are crude and modern machinery has not been introduced to a great extent, although the largest plantations are already supplied with the latest improvements. With the introduction on a larger scale of modern machinery and the latest processes the sugar industry would be certain to afford satisfactory profits. Cacao of a very high quality is produced in Guatemala and the native article commands much higher prices than that produced in other countries and brought to Guatemala for sale. The productive regions are the _tierras calientes_ or hot coast lands. The principal cacao producing districts are Escuintla, Suchitepequez, Solola, and Retalhuleu. The bean is most productive at an altitude of 800 to 2,000 feet. In some cases the shrub produces a pound of beans every four months and after reaching maturity it is said to produce without interruption for one hundred years. Notwithstanding the superior quality of the Guatemala cacao the industry has not been carried on systematically, possibly because five or six years are required to secure the first crop. In the last year the total output was only 34,000 pounds, but the steady demand for cacao and the certainty of good prices justifies the investment of capital which can await five or six years for the first returns. The gathering of the cacao beans requires very little machinery and few laborers. Chiefly care must be taken not to hurt the bean or almond when breaking the fruit wherein they are contained. One day of fermentation must then be given to them, after which they remain exposed to the sun for six or eight days, when they are ready to be sent to the market.