Chapter 1056: The Sugar War
London, England.
10 Downing Street.
"...Therefore, the various regions of India produced a total of 400,000 hundredweight of cane sugar this year." Harry Odell, a trade representative for the British East India Company, glanced at the report in his hand and summarized, "The price of this batch of sugar is more than seventy percent lower than that of Paris, which will reduce the price of sugar in our domestic market by nearly twenty percent."
The unit he referred to was the British hundredweight; 400,000 hundredweight amounted to approximately 21,000 tons.
Expressions of pleasant surprise immediately broke out across the faces of Lord Grenville and the other high-ranking cabinet members. They nodded to one another in mutual congratulation.
Henry Petty, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, even took the lead in applauding.
Britain currently consumed about 105,000 tons of cane sugar annually, a demand that required the government to provide 2.4 million pounds in subsidies.
This year, the sugarcane harvest in India had been so bountiful that it directly satisfied one-fifth of the nation's sugar consumption. This alone could reduce the year's sugar subsidies by nearly 500,000 pounds!
'Wait,' Petty thought, his heart skipping a beat. 'With such a large quantity of sugar hitting the market, the domestic sugar shortage will be greatly alleviated. That means the subsidy rate itself can be adjusted downward.'
Petty immediately looked toward Lord Grenville. "Prime Minister, given the increase in the sugar supply, I suggest we can reduce the sugar subsidies to 1.5 million pounds."
Upon hearing this, the other ministers voiced their agreement. Saving 900,000 pounds from the subsidy budget meant significantly more funding for their own departments.
Just as Lord Grenville was about to nod, he saw William Pitt Junior, the Prime Minister's advisor, stand up and raise a hand.
"I believe it would be best to place this entire shipment of sugar into storage rather than releasing it onto the market," Pitt declared.
Everyone looked at him in shock.
Grenville frowned slightly. "Pray, tell us your reasoning."
Pitt took a deep breath and said loudly, "Compared to cutting a few subsidies, the most important thing for us right now is to break France's monopoly on sugar and reclaim the power to set its price!"
Petty spread his hands. "I understand your sentiment, Mr. Pitt, but frankly, I fear that is impossible. You know that Paris controls a sugar production of at least 80,000 tons. we simply do not have enough leverage..."
This year, the sugar production within France itself was 40,000 tons.
Additionally, France had secured priority purchasing rights for Egyptian cane sugar from the Ottomans, which amounted to roughly 10,000 tons.
Then there was the output from the Caribbean, which was at least 30,000 tons. As social order in the Caribbean continued to recover, this figure was increasing rapidly.
One had to remember that at its peak, the Caribbean's sugar production had exceeded 185,000 tons. Currently, the various Caribbean nations were essentially subordinates of France.
Trying to upend the pricing power of 80,000 tons using a mere 21,000 tons from the Indian colonies was nothing but an idiot's daydream.
If the British dared to dump their small amount of sugar onto the market at a low price, British merchants would simply buy it all up, load it onto ships, sail it to Paris, and sell it at the French price to pocket the difference.
"You all seem to have forgotten Prussia," Pitt said, appearing full of confidence. "Not long ago, we acquired 2,000 tons of sugar from Prussia at only half the market price."
The high-ranking British officials in the room continued to shake their heads silently. A production of less than 2,000 tons had almost zero impact on the landscape of the European sugar trade.
As if expecting this reaction, Pitt smiled and continued, "The Prussians have obtained a large quantity of high-yield sugar beet seeds from France. Furthermore, they have decided to drastically increase their sugar beet planting area, potentially to more than five times what it was this year.
"In that case, even by the most conservative estimates, Prussia's sugar production next year will be 16,000 tons. Considering their farmers are more familiar with sugar beet cultivation, it might even reach 21,000 tons!"
The room fell silent instantly as everyone began calculating in their heads.
According to Pitt's logic, if they stored the 21,000 tons harvested from India this year and added it to next year's Indian production of 21,000 tons, plus the 21,000 tons from Prussia, they would have a total of 63,000 tons.
That was certainly enough to challenge the French and their 80,000 tons.
Even if they couldn't fully reclaim the pricing power, they could at least become a significant force in determining the direction of sugar prices.
At that point, sugar prices might even return to the levels seen before the Caribbean unrest!
Pitt surveyed the excited faces of the crowd and continued to paint a beautiful future.
"And that is not all. The Americans have essentially taken control of the plantations in the Bahamas—oh, and we hold some shares in those.
"This means that next year, the Bahamas can provide us with more than 5,000 tons of sugar, while the French supply will decrease by 5,000 tons."
Now, even Lord Grenville was visibly moved. Britain finally held the same amount of sugar leverage as France!
However, Pitt did not seem satisfied. "Furthermore, we can use the same little tricks the French used against us years ago."
Grenville asked hurriedly, "To what are you referring?"
"Instigating unrest in the Caribbean," Pitt said, looking westward. "According to the intelligence we have gathered, the local populations have no idea how to manage a government. Currently, the finances of both Jamaica and Barbados are on the verge of collapse.
"We only need to give them a gentle push, and countless starving people will join in the riots.
"This will reduce the sugar the French obtain from the Caribbean by another 18,000 tons or more.
"The sugar we control will then be forty percent more than what the French have.
"As long as we manage this correctly, the center of the European sugar trade will surely return to London!"
Lord Grenville pondered for only a moment before nodding. "I believe your plan is well worth a try. Please submit a detailed report to me as soon as possible."
As he was speaking, he saw Foreign Secretary Fox's assistant hurry in and whisper a few words into his ear.
Fox immediately frowned and turned to Grenville. "Prime Minister, the Russians occupied Tabriz half a month ago. Currently, they should be attacking the Zanjan fortress."
The British Prime Minister froze for a moment. It took a full three or four seconds before he recalled where Tabriz and Zanjan were located.
He then followed with a frown of his own. "It seems Sir Gracie's concerns were justified."
The Home Secretary, the Earl Spencer, asked Petty in a confused whisper, "Who is Sir Gracie?"
"The officer who submitted 'The Great Game' report," the latter replied with a glance. "Surely you haven't failed to read it?"
"I put it in my drawer. You know, with the number of new factories being built lately, I really haven't had the time."
Petty had no choice but to give him a brief explanation.
Only then did Lord Spencer learn that Gracie was an officer who had served in northern India for many years and had deeply studied the situation in Afghanistan, Persia, and Central Asia.
He had submitted 'The Great Game' report last month, suggesting that the British government should increase investment in Persia and Afghanistan to prevent the Russians from expanding into those areas and eventually seizing the Khyber Pass.
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