The introduction of the dredging machine in 1912 and the gravel pump transformed the industry while at the same time establishing British control over it. The government of the Federated Malay States invested heavily in rail and road infrastructure that helped lower production costs and also provided land concessions to new companies. The net result was that whereas in 1912 some 80 per cent of Malaya’s tin production was under Chinese management, by 1931 British firms accounted for more than 65 per cent of total tin production.
The remarkable ascendency of the tin industry resulted from the increasing use of tinplate cans in the preservation of food, with American consumption accounting for about a quarter of world demand. Malaya’s tin production and its share of world output increased dramatically in the last three decades of the 19th century when it overtook Britain as the world’s largest producer.
Malayan tin production continued to grow steadily to reach a peak of 52,000 tons in 1904, thereafter levelling at around 50,000 tons per year. Production declined during World War I as a result of export controls and shipping disruptions. With economic recovery tin output expanded and by 1937 Malaya achieved its largest ever production.
