Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 March 1896 — The Quinine Trade. [ARTICLE]

The Quinine Trade.

Quinine extracting has undergone a vast change within the past thirty year. The extraordinary demand for the drug incident to the war raised its price for a while up to over $3 an ounce. Two great Philadelphia firms at that time had a monopoly of its manufacture. Three firms, with New York.as their central sales places, are now engaged in the manufacture of sulphate of quinine and its cognate salts. The duty lias been removed, and foreign quinine, competes in this market. Despite the fact that foreign manufacturers can. get the need bark at their own doors, and that American manufacturers are compelled to buy their hark in London or Amsterdam and pay freight to this, country, the product of the latter has still preference among American physicians. Still vast amounts of foreign quinine find a market here. Three years agoforeign manufacturers found themselves overloaded with the drug, and sought an outlet for their surplus here. Over 3,000,000 ounces were entered at this port, which was an increase of three-quarters of a million ounces beyond the importations of any previous year. It wrought much disturbance, and the price was hammered down until twenty-seven cents pelounce was touched. That was lowwater mark. It has taken nearly twoyears to absorb that surplus, but tradeis on a natural basis again, and prices have risen to thirty cents per ounce, the highest for years. The value of the total product made and marketed throughout this city amounts to about sl,o9o,ooo.—New York Mail and Express.