The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-08-17
THE COMMERCE. OF CUBA.
Report of the British Consul She,
Excess of Ir,porfs

Report of the British Consul Shows
an Excess of Imports
The commerce of Cuba in 1899 is de-
scribed by the British Consul at Havana
in report which has just reached the
Treasury Bureau of Statistics. It specially
calls attention TO the fact that the i'm
ports OF 1853 largely exceed the value of
the exports, and that more than 50 per
cent of these imports were food products,
much of which might have been produced
in the island and produced with a proper
tionateiy less investment OF capital than
that required for the chief producing in
dustry. sugar. The following is an extract
from the report:
Judging from the more detailed returns
which are available as to the nature of
| the imports at Havana which constitute
70 per cent of the total merchandise i'm
ported into the whole island. it does not
( appear that any large amount Of tools in
dustrlaI machinery or material for public
works were introduced, which might rep
resent the investment of foreign capital
10 be employed in opening up new enter
pTfsss, the great bulk of the imports being
ratEef for food, clothing, liquors. and
othe~ articles OF habitual consumption
which call for periodical replenishing-
The greater part Of this excess impoT-
tation was covered BY the amount realized
by the sale last year Of certain railways
J and cigar factories TO foreign principally
BriushJ companies, but, Of course, the per
manent alienation of properties 10 meet
current necessities cannot be indefinitely
( repeated, and unless there is large in
! crease in the exports in the current year,
a great falling OF must be expected IN the
I import trade
''The following statistics of the trade
OF the whole island in 1922 (as com
! pared with 1897 though not very recent,
are not without value as atfording a ba-
/ sis for comparing the movement today with
/ that of two fairly prosperous years under
| the Spanish regime:
! Year Value of
Imports. Exports
1891 =. -................ el0.6l5,907 SIG 951l3l
1892 NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. IS.IG2.G55 1859 IS
1893 Observation-Disclosures. l3.22I6l7 9,dl6os9
Further on in the same report the Con-
! sui General writes:
The Island of Cuba presents the anon
| ally of a purely agricultural and eXcep-
! tionally fertile country dependent very
largely on foreign countries for its food
supply. The limits OF this report do not
permit Of examining at length the causes
which have led to this state OF things; II
is sufficient TO point out its existence and
! the important bearing it has on It's foreign
| commerce.
The value Of the food products. Includ-
! ing liquors ana two-thirds of the live
| stock. which must be reckoned as food, i'm
ported into Havana in 1899 amounts to
over e. Geo csc. or 81 per cent Of the total
imports into that port without taking in
| 10 account the differentiation TO which |
! have called attention in the paragraph on
! imports and exports. II the same proper
| tion be applied TO the total imports into
the whole island We find that &6749, Geo
represented imports OF food alone lin 9th
er words. absolute necessities) in which il
is hard to see how any economies could Re
i effected, except perhaps in quality. and
| that only TO limited extent. If We deduct
| this amount from the value of the exports
We find q surplus of only G2 272. 900 with
which 10 provide for clothing and all the
| other necessities Of a country containing a
population OF 1900 Coo and without any
| manufacturing Industries whatever; a sum
which is manifestly Inadequate
/ The deduction to be drawn is suffi-
| GENTLY obvious. The island must either
! produce more articles for export or il
| must raise more food products at home
and import less from abroad The most
practical solution is undoubtedly the lat
| ter as far less capital is required for cul-
| tivating maize beans. rice. and vegeta-
bles than for producing sugar. which has
hitherto been considered as the staple ex-
port
| Whatever solution may be ultimately
| found, there can be no doubt that the
! island VIII in the Immediate future have
to pass through period Of poverty. dur
ing which the importaJions Will fall con-
| siderabiy below last years figures. and
viii be restricted 10 absolute necessities OF
life and to cheaper grades of other com
modities
Return showing the imports and ex-
ports Of merchandise into and from The
| Island of Cuba according 20 ports CT entry
| in the year 1889.