26 



THE CUBA REVIEW. 



Oranges and Grapefruit. 



The market is liberally supplied with Florida, California and Porto Rican 

 oranges, but the receipts from Cuba are small. The California oranges have been 

 selling mainly in range of $2 to $3.50 of late, and the Florida fruit $1.50 to $3. Porto 

 Rico have not shown quality to exceed $1.25 to $2, few above $1.75 to $1.80, and the 

 Cuban have brought little if any more than Porto Rico. Cuban grapefruit has been 

 in light supply and has sold fairly; Florida is worth from $1.50 to $3.50 and Cuban 

 would command as much if of equal quality, though the recent arrivals have seldom 

 been attractive enough to equal Florida in price. At auction February 3 there were 

 65 crates of Cuban grapefruit offered, which sold at $1.45 to $1.50 for 36s, 46s and 54s. 



Pineapples are in light receipt from Florida and Porto Rico and the Cuban 

 receipts have met a good outlet though prices comparatively low; 140 crates Cuban 

 sold at auction February 3 at $1.50 per crate for 24s and 30s, though from store as 

 high as $1.75 is being realized and in some cases $2 for fancy, well packed. Some of 

 the Cuban pines are not packed tightly enough and arrive showing rnore or less 

 waste because they have had sufficient room to shake and bruise in transit. 



New York, February 5, 1909. 



CUBA'S OPPORTUNITIES. 



U. S. Consul-General Rodgers on Cuba Products for Cuba's Market — These Can Be 



Sold at Big Prices. 



Opportunities for the American colon- 

 ist in Cuba are great along the line of 

 providing the home market with prod- 

 ucts easily raised, but which the native 

 imports, says our consul in Cuba, James 

 L. Rodgers. Among imported foodstuffs 

 are rice, coffee, potatoes, onions, beans 

 and eggs. 



The consul's comments on the oppor- 

 tunities in these products are as follows: 



Rice comes through English and Ger- 

 man exportation, some from Spain and 

 a very little from the United States, but 

 its profitable culture in Cuba at present 

 cannot be considered. The industry re- 

 quires cheap labor, and that is not avail- 

 able. 



Potatoes. — The United States supplies 

 60 "per cent, of the demand and 35 per 

 cent, coming from Canada. Cuba's cli- 

 mate is not favorable to growth and 

 storage half of the year, but cold storage 

 would help greatly. 



Coffee comes from the United States, 

 Venezuela and Porto Rico, the latter 

 supplying 50 per cent. 



The cost of labor is also a factor in 

 this industry, but because of better ma- 

 chinery some plantations in Santa Clara 

 and Oriente provinces are doing well 

 financially. Should labor prices advance, 

 however, and the government lower the 

 duty, which is $18.72 per 100 kilos to 

 the United States and $23.40 for all 

 other countries, the industry would be- 

 come unprofitable. 



Onions are supplied by the United 

 States to the amount of 13 per cent, 

 only, Spain and the Canary Islands 70 

 per cent. The consul reports that onions 

 are said to deteriorate in Cuba like po- 

 tatoes, and cold storage facilities are 

 likewise necessary. 



Beans. — Forty per cent, come from the 

 United States, 35 per cent, from Mexico 

 and 13 per cent, from Germany. All 

 kinds grow well in Cuba, but are subject 

 to the ravages of worms, hence pro- 

 tective storage is advisable. 



Eggs. — Practically all importations 

 come from the United States. Chickens 

 thrive and natural foods is easily ob- 

 tained. The climate is not too hot, and 

 there are no animal enemies. The 1907 

 importations were valued at over $1,000,- 

 000. Given protection in all ways, the 

 chicken and egg business in Cuba should 

 attract capital. 



Hog raising is another profitable in- 

 dustry. Nature provides plenty of food, 

 and the animal thrives. Cuuans bought 

 15,000,000 pounds of salted pork from 

 the United States in 1906. 



These products the American farmer 

 can sell at big prices in Cuba, and he 

 need not fear competition from the 

 Cubans. 



The consul in conclusion says: Cuba's 

 laws, conditions, manners and customs 

 are different from the United States; 

 its labor is not cheap, and that these 

 things should all be carefully considered. 



Steamer La Gloria leaving Port Viaro. 



