Sugar industry

The raw materials supplied by the cultivation of sugar cane and the vine inevitably gave rise to the industries producing sugar, alcohol, spirit (aguardente, distilled from sugar cane or wine) and wine. The sugar industry, under the protectionist regime in which it currently operates, is the most important of them all and the one that renders the greatest services to agriculture, as has already been stated above. Sugar production, which in the earliest days of colonisation was the chief source of wealth and prosperity, has varied greatly over the long span of five centuries. This is because it is closely bound up with the flourishing or declining state of the cane fields, which disease at certain times wiped out completely. The sugar consumed in the archipelago, which is of superior quality, is all made in Funchal, and its production in 1932 amounted to four thousand one hundred and seventy-three tonnes.

The alcohol produced is used exclusively for seasoning and fortifying the fortified wines, and without it the proper preparation of wines destined for export would be impossible. In 1932 the alcohol industry produced eight hundred and twelve thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven litres.

The making of spirit, which for many years was the greatest scourge afflicting Madeira, was very considerable and was consumed here at an alarming rate. Fortunately, over the last twenty years it has been cut back to quite modest proportions, which has contributed notably and effectively to combating alcoholism and improving public health. For every reason, it is to be hoped that the prohibitive measures in force will be maintained absolutely and inexorably. At one time as much as two million litres of spirit were produced, although part of it was used to season wines consumed in the archipelago. In 1927 this production was reduced by law to five hundred thousand litres a year, almost all of which was drunk by devotees of this coveted poison, and today production is quite small.

Below we give a note of the total production of sugar cane throughout the archipelago over a number of years, together with the production of sugar and alcohol over the same period. It should be noted that the total cane production also includes the cane used in making spirit (aguardente).

Years	Cane production (kg)	Sugar production (kg)	Alcohol production (l)
Years	Cane production (kg)	Sugar production (kg)	Alcohol production (l)
1929	44,776,559	1,763,313	615,093
1930	46,992,144	3,148,200	715,422
1931	45,006,160	3,541,275	914,579
1932	48,997,194	4,173,565	812,777

For a fuller understanding of this subject, it is essential to read the articles Sugar, Aguardente, Alcohol and Sugar Cane in the first volume of this Elucidário.