BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-05-22

have purchased 10000 tons or 10000
bags, or about ten days supply" was
the reply. OF that quantity 10000 tons
is in process of shipment from Cuba"
The prices paid, the witness said, had
ranged from $I.75 to 81 90, the highest
price being paid on March 13 and the
lowest on April 22."
where do YOU buy your raw sugar."
"All over the world; in Cuba, lava.
Hamburg. Trieste, the British West In
dies, South America-wherever sugar is
grown"
"Does the 10000 tons you mention
represent your entire puschases in Cuba
since Jan. ~
mo; we have bought all told o3,coo
tons of Cuban sugars during the pre-
sent year; or about three-fourths of a
months supply, our consumption being
about IS 900 tons per week"
"Do you control any sugar in Cuba
other than that purchased?
"None whatever. in any manner
Have you taken any options on
Cuban sugars?"
II have not"
"Have you made any advance on any
Cuban sugar.
"None whatever"
$50 that you wish to be understood
as saying that the amount you have
mentioned as having purchased repres-
ents your entire interest, direct and in
direct, in Cuban sugar."
"That is the statement I make"
Continuing, Mr.. Havemeyer said the
entire Cuban sugar crop is about $780,
600 tons, but that much of it has been
withheld from the market in view of
possible tariff concessions to be made
by Congress. On that account his pur-
chases had been only about one-third
of the average of other years. The
purchases had been made principally
at outports, where the storage facilities
were poor, rather than at Havana. In
that city the company has about $4,000
tons now stored The purchases at the
outports had caused the sales there to
> be made on parity with the beet
; sugar prices.
Speaking of the capacity of his COM
l pany he said that it refined 65 per cent
of the American refined product.
: He added that the percentage of his
: companys product, compared to the
entire sugar consumption of the United
: States, was about 50 per cent Last
year his company produced 100000
tons of the refined sugar while the con-
: sumption was 2,4ooooo tons.
Reverting to the purchase of Cuban
sugar for the present year, Mr.. Have
meyer gave figures of purchases for
l other years to show the relative volume
! of the current acquisitions, saying that
in 1892, $4,000 tons had been bought;
in 1893, 246,ooo tons; in 1894 32I,ooo
tons. He said that the price Of raw
sugar in the United States is fixed by
; the beet market prices in Hamburg.
The price there fixes the selling price
for the entire world. On the subject
of the price of Cuban sugars he said
that his company could not determine
their price. 'We have, he said, mo
control over them whatever; they don't
belong to us"
"Cuba has to sell her sugar in this
; market, hasn't she7
NO. that is not true. She can sell
in England, for instance, if she is de-
slrous to do so. England could take
the entire Cuban CROP
Suppose the United States should
make a concession of say 20 or Is per
cent. in the tariff rates on Cuban sugar
couldn't you refuse to buy the Cuban
product except at your own rates and
thus secure the benefit of the conces-
sion? asked Senator Plat.
"Irl no Way" was the replv. "C11ba
would be under no obligations to sell to
us, because, as have said, the Cuban
producers could find other markets"
@All the duty hae been taken off of
Porto Rican sugar; do you get that
sugar any cheaper on that account
Not at all.
"How about the Hawaiian product?
"We are under contract for the entire
$4,000 tons produced in Hawaii. There
is no tariff on that product, but the
price is not affected by that circum-
stance"