The Washington times., 1915-11-30
JAMAICA HARD HIT
+ BY WAR M EUROPE
Exports and Imports Have De-
creased IL Per Cent Since
August, 1914.

tboupb trad, in the West Indies gen
craIv has suffered to an extent whish
,r ,u,te sppreciable owing to spe;'d
war conditions, yet Jamaica. on ac-
court of the perishable nature of ita
principai commodity-banana
had q more serious setback than any
other OF the British West Indian col
onies. The sister colony of Trinidad
Of better shipping facilities Offered
I'm neutral and British vessels.
The effect Of war conditions in ia
maica Is exhibited in the customs col
lections. Since August. 1914. imports
and exports have decreased ~ per
cent while excise revenue has fallen
TO an even greater extent. The fall
Ing off in exports Is due almost en-
tire,y to the lack OF adequate ship
sring.
Comparing the latest returns for
1916 with the corresponding pre-war
period In 1914. the following percen' =
;grs Illustrate the decreases In various
typical exports: Coffee. II per '"'I
cocoa ~ rn- cr"': d""'""..'".
cent; bananas. II per cent; ginger.
- per Ct. .,I,t -, - T. %,
"a per cent. sugar. 10 per cent: cot
ton. . per cent. and honey. 3, per cent.
Exports One. Third Less.
Pananas. which form the principal ex-
port OF the colony. representing GO per
cent OF the total exports, have fallen by
almost one-half. and this In year when
the crop Is the largest In the island
history. The colony. in fact. has had
q. record production in almost all lines,
but total exports are almost one-third
less than in normal years. As con-
sequence perishable commodities are
wasted and In some places surplus run
for banana plantations, not protected by
firm contracts with the fruit-tradinS
companies cannot find buyers at cents
per bunch.
II is the very irony OF fate that after
the hurricane of 1912 and a period OF
almost continuous drought In some sec.
tions since 1863. just when the seasonal
rains have been the best since the yeat
1906 with a record crop both as regarns
quality and uuantity--the island snouid
he place in position where II cannot
market its produce for lack OF vessels
to carry It, The situation has peen
somewhat relieved by the action or the
imperial government in arranging foi
ocean transport for some OF the surplus
sugar stocks. but this beneft 10 the
island as a whole Is small. as sugar oc.
,ipies but a comparatively insignincent
position in the bulk Of the colony's
exports.
transport Is an essential condition 10 the
islands prosperity. This Jamaica has
not got and there seems no immediate
prospect of Improvement IN the s'tua-
tion.
L. S. Best Customer.
England is not in a position to act.
except TO find freights for such prod
ucts as she may Immediately require.
The eyes O. Jamaica, therefore. turn
TO the United States. rot only for the
reason that she Is the islands best Gus
toner for bananas. buying ~ per cent
of the gross production. but for the
further reason that American capital
and energy and enterprise has deNei-
oped the banana trade to It's present
position oi pre-eminence.
1t is Interesting mere 10 iiote me fein
tive positions OF the mother state and
America. bo.h as buyers and sellets.
in 1874 Juraca purchased ifom GT"it
Britain d per cent OF her entire I'M
pcrtations and in 1914. 3l.J pee ccnC,
while she purchased from America l.
1874 30.S per cent and In lsl4, ~ per
cent. res c.Mely. IN other words, In
forty ye' = trade with Great iirita'n
has dino I'd by u, per cent while
improved - per ccr:. OF exports. the
mother land purchased IL .b;,, .a.2 Der
cent and In The .c.I.e year the United
states purchased !; per cent. IN 1914
INC 1'ldllNf IlO5NISIIS were. l nlteu
Kingdom, 1S-2 per cent: United states.
COZ per cent, and AT the same time the
bulk of trade during he period men
toned has moro than doubled in value.
Iamaica's next best customer is Can
ada. whose purchases in l"Ii amounted
TO ~ per cent. with sales totalnR
slightly over per cent.
Rum and Sugar Soar.
One reassurinS feature OF the situa-
tion Is the present high prices OF spe-
cial products, which. In a measure, help
TO compensate for other losses. For in
stance. rum and sugar have SCARED 10
point which has rot been attained 81.
the present generation. Rum stands at
quite double antc-Nar price varyii,v
according to quality from &, cents to 81
per Imperial gallon, = bile sugar is pra :.
lically 50 per hun ..rci weight. At the .
rlices very han Hl.'"in~ margin IL l2st
over cost Of prud"G!ion. certainly 10.
vested. "
But In SPIKE OF t:csn favorable fac
tors lack Of str imsGip frcights hits the
itland traCn IA its most vital spot. tn.
banana tr;.!:.
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