The times., 1899-02-27
PHILIPPINE TRADE CONDITIONS
statistics Furnished by the Depart
mcnt of Agriculture.

The Department of Agriculture has is
sued an interesting publication. compiled
! by Frank H. Hitchcock, Chief of the Sec
tion of Foreign Markets of the Depart
ment, which contains a statistical review
of the trade of the Philippine Islands. The
character of merchandise and agricultural
products exported and imported by the ISL
ands; their trade relations with other coun-
tries, particularly with the United States,
and other interesting matters relating to
the commerce of the archipelago are en-
braced in the pamphlet.
In his introduction Mr.. Hitchcock calls
attention to the fact that official statistics
in regard to the foreign commerce of the
Philippines are not available for years sub
sequent to 1891. The annual statements Of
importation and expectation prepared by
the customs administration of the Islands
brings the history of the trade down to
1895, but for that and later years the only
statistics to be had consist or rough esti-
mates based partly upon data procured by
the consular officers and merchants at Ma
Mia.
The Philippine official records that are
available extend back in an unbroken
series from 1894 to 1880, inclusive, covering
period of fifteen consecutive years. AS
regards the trade carried on prior TO 1881
there is dearth of statistical information
Such returns. however, as could be found
for these earlier years have been coliated
and although far from complete, they dis
close interesting facts regarding the devel-
opment of Philippine commerce.
| In 1884, the latest year for which the offi-
cial customs returns appear 10 have been Is
! sued the imports brought into the Philip
pines were valued at S14,250, III, and the ex-
ports sent to foreign markets at Sl6,5il ,Si2,
making a total trade worth $50, 49,
/ These figures are unusually small, however,
/ compared to previous years. They average
! annual commerce during the fifteen years
! prior to 1894 reached as high as s37 ,566, ,005.
| On those fifteen years 1880 was credited
with the largest figures. the total import
! and export trade transacted during that
| year attaining a value of si4,042.Slo.
OF the trade between the United States
and the Philippines the publication gives
| the value of the merchandise imported and
| exported in our commerce with the Phil
! ippines during the fiscal year 1897. based
on the official trade returns of this coun-
try. at S4.47S.S5T. These were the small
| est annual figures recorded since 1863,
! nearly thirty years ago. when the COM
bined imports and exports were valued
at Si,4T0,S S57.
AS lar back as 1851 our tTduS Win lue
islands was recorded to exceed Sl,000.000
but that this was an exceptional year
is shown by the fact that the million
dollar mark was not reached again until
1913, when the value of merchandise ex-
changed amounted to S1.22S,66I- After
that our Philippine commerce continued to
increase with some minor fluctuations
down to 1884. during which year it at
| tained its greatest development. having
a total of sl2. .534. i56
The highest figures subsequent to the
record of 1884 were those for the year
1890, amounting to sl1, 902. Since the
| latter year our share of the Philippine
trade has been greatly diminished, owing,
in all probability. to the tariff provisions
that were enacted for the islands by the
Spanish government in order to give the
| Spanish merchants a still further control
of the commerce.
During the past two or three years our
trade with the Philippines has been only
about half as large as it was at the be-
| ginning of the present decade. the ten
years from 1888 to 1897 showing a loss
of fully 80 per cent The average annual
value of goods imported and exported in
the last five years, from 1898 to 1897
amounted to only SS,1SS, ,466. as compared
| with sS.Jl6,650 for the preceding five
years.
Our commerce with the Philippines is
extremely one-sided In character, consist
ing principally of an import trade in the
products of the islands. The amount OF
/ merchandise sent from the United States
in return has been comparatively small.
The goods imported into the Philippines
as has already been shown, have been sup
piled chiefly by Spain and the United King
dom these two countries having enjoyed a
virtual monopoly of the Philippine market.
The largest annual export from the
! United States to the islands ever recorded
that for 1860. amounted to only 1854 sos.
! while our heaviest import. that for 1884
I reached as high as Sl2 .339. .52l. In 1897
the latest year for which statistics are
| available. our imports from the islands
were valued at Si,3S3. 7i0. and our exports
to them at only $94597. the excess Of the
! imports over the exports amounting to
S4,2S9.143.
This excess in favor of the imports,
although striking one, the smallest
recorded since 1869. the fact being that
while the average value OF our imports
has declined In recent years. that of cur
exports has remained about the same. A
comparison of the figures for the past
decade shows that the average value per
annum of the imports fell from SS. S59SS
| in lSSS-lS92 TO Sc 232 in 1Sg;;-1s97
while that of the exports. which only
SlSO,662 in the former period, amounted TO
Sl35.22S in the latter, disclosing slight
. increase.
Our imports from the Philippines consist
! principally of Manila hemp and sugar, the
most important agricultural products of
| the islands. These two articles. taken to-
gether. comprise in value fully rs per cent
OF all the merchandise imported in cur
Philippine trade during the past ten years
/ 1SSS-lS97 Among the other leading prod
| ucts of the islands imported into the
| United States are coffee, indigo. and to-
! bacco. The most important manufactured
articles received from that source are
plated hats, cigars. and vegetable oil
| called ylang- ylang Hides and skins and
| dyewoods were formerly purchased from
the Philippines in considerable quantities
but the importation OF these commodities
! during recent years has been extremely
/ small
Measured in value the Manila hemp i'm
ported into the United States during the
ten years from 1883 to 1897 formed about
4 fifty-fve per cent of our total imports
from the islands. Sugar is nearly as i'm
portant a factor in our import trade with
the islands Manila hemp. The sugar We
purchased during the decade under con-
sideraton formed about 43 per cent of the
value of the total imports from the Philip
pines
Coffee was formerly imported quite ex-
teusively but in recent years our purchases
from that source have greatly diminished.
The production in the islands is apparently
| much smaller than it was in the pas.
| owing, it is said, TO the ravages Of an in
sect which destroys the coffee trees. Indigo
was also formerly imported from the Phil
ippines into the United States in mucn
greater quantities than at present.
As regards tobacco an examination of the