505 1910 1911 1q20 1q25 II~

FIGURE 11.—Trends in prQduction, Imports, stocks, and prices of tin,
1901-32.
 TIN 28ä
 The decreased consumption in the United States during 1932 was a very depressing
factor on the tin market; nevertheless, much curtail.. ment during the period
since 1929 has been for needs that ultimately will be supplied. Consequently
tin producers can look forward with some degree of optimism, because much
business, particularly in the building trades, is not lost but postponed.
 International production control.—The high tin prices of 1926—27
caused a boom in. the development of tin mines that led to over produc..
tion of tin as early as 1928. Stocks began to rise and prices to fall. During
the summer of 1928 the Tin Producers' Association was formed to regulate
the output of tin mines, but the general industrial depression caused a decline
in consumption that nullified all benefits from controlled production. In
1930 a move was started to effect a legally enforceable curtailment program.
 The Governments of British Malaya, Bolivia, Netherlands, India, and Nigeria
finally agreed to a production-curtailment plan that went
into effect March 1, 1931. The organization for carrying out these plans
was called the International Tin Committee and had its headquarters at The
Hague, the Netherlands. This committee assigned an export quota to each of
the four signatory countries with the understanding that each would translate
this quota into controlled produc-. tion by. assigning output quotas to its
respective producers. Each Government,.supported by the necessary legislation,
issued individual production permits; disregard of these made the offender
subject to heavy penalties. Siam joined the plan later, on a basis of accepting
a quota of 10,000 long tons a year effective from September 1, 1931. All
the countries but Siam subsequently accepted several reductions in their
quotas, the last being agreed to on July 1, 1932. The table on p. 295 summarizes
the quota data.
 Another development was the Tin Pool, an international organization for
carrying surplus stocks of tin. This organization was formed during August
1931 and acquired 19,000 long tons of tin before the end of that year. During
the early part of 1932 the pool's holdings were increased to 21,000 tons.
It has been announced that the holdings of the pooi are to be liquidated
at a minimum price of £165