New-York tribune., 1900-04-05
AGRICULTURAL IMPORTS.
THE TRADE FROM CUBA AND BRAZIL
SHOWS A DECLINE.

Washington April A statement showing the
sources of the agricultural imports of the United
States in the fiscal 1ssilseS has been pre-
pared by Frank II. Hitchcock, Chief of the Foreign
Markets Section of the Agricultural Department
Some of the statements 1t contains are as follows:
During the five fiscal years 1s94-1ssS the agrlcul-
tural imports of the United States had an average
skins. wool silk. vegetable fibres, fruits and tea
Sred in s value these eight items formed over
ffths of the total import trade in agricuitnra p1 pp11u
averaging about s3o00O0OO0 a year. OF this sum
more than was paid for two no df the
sugar imports s for lSsi-lSSS amounted to SSfS'''
Brazil, which furnishes about two-thrds of h the
coffee imports headed tee list The 3gre9itmra m al n m
Aside from coffee the imports from Brazil We're IN
Cuba the principal source of the sugar purchased
by the United States ranked next to Brazli @ IN I'M
our AGRICULTURAL imports from the Island amounted
to O 10 per s cent of ee the tobseco tS5a an us
Under normal conditions the imports of agricultural
eafed by lIU ahs are for % period
there was remarkable falling off o the import value
With s72 45 S55 for 1884 1884 Cuba stood foremost
imports the PRODUCTS received from the isand dur
ing that period exceeding in value those from
hs rg gnsq bs Bns 6dn
produce of British dependencies reexported by the
mother country. Wool and hides were the leading
cipa item from China S1,2SSi9, tea ana SILK belhG
OF all the tea imported more than half came from
China. From Japan the imports were S16,s92, 49,
silk being the most important item, about one-half
of the total sk coming hrd from If that hat
ea s F9m G Eafe T9e the bass esE E
fruit and nuts vegetable oils being the leading
ems Imports from m 9her G eSgntres fb4 ay
being the leading item; Dutch East Indies. $12,Go0-
aa fl ssaE fPr
ing the principal part and after that rice & c9ftee f
Sumatra tobacco COMPRISING about half: British
East Indies SS 910O11: Venezuela 81 s9393S. largely
of coffee supply; Argentina s7,361 .272 Egypt S.-
02o, 765, Egyptian cotton being the leading item.
imports exceed $1,000 600 The agricultural imports
from the Philippine Islands. consisting chiefly of
Manila hemp and sugar. averaged 1869.
ports amounted to only 1914 2s1 1856 in 1898
pared with $364,4$S627 in 1894, a considerable in
sources of supply. Japan, China and the Ha
waan ISLANDS afforded the most striking instances
products imported from Japan from sl4.035637
in 1894 in 1885, China from s14 22 S9
sS,24644 ard the Hawaiian Islands from $1,000
94S to s17,142.5OS.
OF the sources from which products of agri-
culture received in diminished quantities dur
ing the five years Cuba the most conspicuous.
AS a result of the disturbed conditions that pre-
vailed on the island. the agricultural imports from
Cuba declined in value from S72. 451 355 in 1894 to
0OOOO0.
Next to the Cuban trade the most important
country showing loss of more than 20,OOOO00.
The value for 1898 only 1854 1872, as against
over one-half the agricultural imports for the
five years came from countries lying wholly or in
chief part within the tropics. and consisted @
United States soil.