Founding, fail and recovering of the Spanish sugar trust: Sociedad General Azucarera Española (1903-1916)

Abstract

After the loss of the last Spanish colonies, the national sugar industry experienced an important readjustment. Small production based on sugarcane remained, but the big investors bet on the development of beet cultivation and on the sugar industry based on that raw material. An important segment of the Spanish manufacturers grouped together in 1903 to form the Sociedad General Azucarera (SGA) that specialized mainly in the manufacture of beet sugar, reaching an important share of sales. The constitution of the so-called “trust” was controversial, but the promoters of the project got additional privileges from the State. However, despite having apparently favorable conditions, the trust failed. Starting from these facts already widely analyzed by historians,
this article focuses on two debates that have not received the same attention: the controversy that surrounded the formation of the company in 1903, and the conflicts with the «non-associated» companies,
farmers and wholesalers. Later we analyze the debate among the most relevant economists about the causes of the technical bankruptcy of the SGA and the role of the State in 1914. That same year, the Sugar Manufacturers Association was created to reorganize the sector.