The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1911-04-10
Four Thousand Millions Are
Imported Into This Coun-
ty in One Year.

WASHINGTON, April 1O.-Four
thousand million bananas were i'm
ported into the United States in tho
calendar year 1910. The banana
habit is a growing one in the United
States. In the early eighties the
value of bananas imported, accord
ing to the figures of the Bureau Of
Statistics of the Department of Com
merce and Labor, ranged between
one and two million dollars per an.
mum; by 1890 the value had increased
to four and one-half million dollars,
in the fiscal year of 1900 to nearly
six million dollars; and in the cal
endar year 1910 to practically twelve
and one-half million dollars. The
rapid growth in this class Of i'm
portations led the Bureau Of statis-
tics few years ago to call upon col
lectors of customs for the quantity
as well as the value imported, and
the figures of quantities, beginning
with the year 1908, showed for that
year So ga million punches; in, 1909,
80 10 million; and in 1910, a little
over 40 million punches were i'm
ported, Assuming that these average
100 bananas to the bunch, figure
which the importers state to be a
conservative estimate, the total num-
her imported in 1909 would aggrega-
gate approximately 1000 million
bananas.
The value Of the bananas imported
in the last decade aggregates in
round terms 100 million dollars. In
the calendar year 1901 the total value
Of bananas imported was ga mil
lion dollars; in 1905, ga million;
in 1907, IL ga million; and in 1910,
10 1-2 million. These figures of the
values of bananas imported are the
valuation at wholesale prices in the
! countries from which exported to
the United States, and the average
price per bunch was 81 cents, as will
be readily seen by dividing the 40
1875. 1858 punches imported in 1910 into
the stated value of $12,43S,334. How
much money is paid by consumers
in the United States for bananas can
not be estimated with accuracy,
though the cost of freight and the
profits of importers. wholesalers and
retailers must add very materially TO
the IL 10 million dollars paid for
them in the countries of production
Central America and the West In
dies are the chief sources Of supply
Of the bananas imported into the
United States. OF the 40 million
punches imported in the calendar
year 1910, 81 million we're from Cen
trail America; 10 1-2 million from
Rritish West Indies 2 1-2 million
from Cuba; and about ! million from
other countries. Costa Rica is the
largest source Of supply in Central
America, Honduras second, and Pan
ANA third. and Jamaica is the larg-
est source of supply in the West Ia
dian Islands. The United States Is
the worlds largest importer CT bana-
mas, The United Kingdom is the
next largest importer, her imports
of this article in the calendar year
1909 being IA million lunches. as
against 80 LIZ million punches ih-
ported into the United States in the
same year. Y
Practically the entire banana sup
ply of the United States comes from
abroad. Efforts have been made from
time to time to develop the banana
industry in the extreme south and
in California. but the domestic pro-
duction is inconsiderable when COM
pared with the Importation. The
banana, while probably a native of
India, is now grown in practically
all tropical countries, and among
part of the human fa'e
ranks as high as do cereal grains
ancng the people of the temperate