Table 4.5.vi


 Gross returns per acre per annum to growers for selected products, by territories

 Territory Sugar cane Cotton Copra Banana Ground provisions 1/
 BWI dollars
Jamaica 278.9 90.8 228.2 110.0
Trinidad and
Tobago 346.3 95.0 411.4 NA.
Barbados 478.8 -- -N.A.
St. Vincent 275.0 192.0 134.0 320.6 150.0
St. Lucia N.A. 110.0 N.A. N.A.
Grenada N.A. N.A. N.A. N.A.
Dominica -- 140.2 443.2 N.A.
St. Kitts 404.6 N.A. N.A. N.A.
Antigua 188.1 200.2 N.A. N.A.
British Guiana 362.1 89.0 -N.A.

 1/ Roots crops.
 Source: Data and material developed during the study and other available data.


 In certain conditions rice yields more revenue than sugar for a small farmer in British
 Guiana, and in Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada cocoa may yield more revenue than bana-
 na. Conditions of production naturally influence these comparisons a great deal.

 As regards estates, where sugar is grown on a significant scale it is considered the
 most profitable crop; there are only minor cases of sugar acreages being given over to
 other crops on estates and these are not representative. On the contrary, where substi-
 tution has taken place, it has probably been in favour of sugar.

 In the absence of more exact cost data, we can only give general conclusions. Fairly
 definite trends are, however, in evidence.

 The traditional sugar economy has not suffered from competition from the newer cash
 crops such as banana and cocoa. Sugar still remains oneofthemostprofitablecashcrops.
 Banana and cocoa expansion may have resulted in a decline in the acreage of less profit-
 able domestic crops, particularly roots, but has probably been achieved mainly by more
 intensive intercropping and by the cultivation of new areas. Supply has been positively elas-
 tic to price increase for most products, and substitution effects due to relative price
 changes have been negligible. It is not so certain whether we can predict a continuation
 of this characteristic of positive elasticity, since available new areas are now limited.
 (See part four, chapter 1.) Perhaps the most important factor is a negatively elastic la-
 bour supply curve which is becoming apparent in some areas. This is discussed in the
 section on labour and manpower problems in this chapter. Already there are indications
 that supply-price functions have not been positively elastic to the same extent in the period
 1957-62 as they were earlier, and we feel labour factors may be the main cause of this
 change.