Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-16
Our Growing lmportations.

Our Growing importations.
In spite of the fact that Aroostook
county is the greatest potato rails
ing district in the world, and that
several Maine counties are rapidly re-
curing the habit of making potatoes
their chief crop; in spite of the fact
that potatoes are now selling from
81 50 to 81 a bushel in Maine market
places. we are told by the u. S. Bu
reau of Statistics, Department of
Commerce and Labor, that 2@ million
bushels of potatoes We're imported
into the United States in the month
of February. This amount was about
twice as much as the average annual
importations during the decade end
ing with 1912 1t is interesting to note
that in addition to this amount of
staffs of all kinds in the eight months
ending with February, 1912, aggregat-
ed 262 million dollars, against pa mil
lion in the corresponding period of
1911 and 145 million in 1902, having
thus nearly doubled in ten years The
chief growth occurs in the class of
articles not grown in the United
States. such az coffee. tea, cocoa, and
tropical fruits.
Coffee, Cocoa and Tea-Imports
under this head have greatly inereas-
ed during the decade, though in cof-
fee the growth is solely due to high
er prices. Eight months imports of
coffee show a decrease in quantity
from 759 million pounds in 1902 to COZ
million in 1912. While the value in
creased from 40 million dollars to IS
million the average import price adj
vancing from 6.3 cents per pound in
1902 to nearly 10 cents in 1912. Cocoa
imports in the s months under review
increased from "a million pounds in
1862 to 70 million in the current fiscal,
Goa and chocolate, from Az million
dollars to over million. Tea imports
have also increased both in quantity
and value, the months figures be-
ing 81 million pounds valued at 15h
million dollars, compared with GA mill
ion pounds valued at million dol
lars decade earlier.
y Sugar-Of sugar the imports are
about the same as in 1900, though
Higher prices give the imports of the
Present year II value more than that
of a dozen years earlier. Eight
months imports in 1900 aggregated
2l50 million pounds valued at 46la
million dollars; in 1912 2153 million
pounds valued at 5914 million dollars,
the average price for each period be-
ing 2.2c. and use. per pound, respec-
lively. These figures do not include,
in either of the years named, the SUI
gar from Porto Rico and Hawaii.
States.
Fruits and egetables-Imports of
fruits and nuts are increasing at
a rate of about million dol
lars year, the s months figures
having advanced from 23h million in
1912, or considerably more than double
the total of 1872 million recorded in
the s months of 1902. Bananas, al
monds, cocoanuts and copra scored
the largest gain under this head /;
while raisins and oranges have lost
ground during the decade. Eight
months imports of bananas have in
creased from 3 23 million dollars in
1902 to So million i'm 1912; almonds,
from less than / million to 2ia mill
ion; and cocoanuts and copra, from
about | TO million dollars Raisins
have decreased from million pounds
in months of 1902 to million in
1912, and oranges from IS million
i>'"'i'" " ieS9 ,iaii iilillloii. III liii-
ports Of vegetables the increase from
% million dollars in months of
1900 TO 10lA million in the elapsed
months of the current year is chiefly
| due TO the unusually large increase
In potatoes already noted. Eight
| months imports of potatoes grew
from s47.osS in value in 1900 to nearly