28 



THE CUBA REVIEW. 



TOBACCO INDUSTRY. 



An Important Commission. 



A general assembly of all branches of 

 the tobacco trade met in Havana Sept. 

 7 to ask Congress for maximum rates 

 to all countries whose duties on Cuban 

 tobacco are prohibitive and the mini- 

 mum to those with equitable duties. 



The Tobacco Manufacturers' Union 

 statement showed declines in tobacco 

 exports in recent years and that quick 

 and strong measures were necessary to 

 preserve the industry. 



Marcelino Diaz de Villegas, Cuban 

 Minister of Finance, interviewed in New 

 York on this important matter, said: 



"As the planting of tobacco does not begin 

 generally until the month of October I cannot 

 say anything about the next crop. The Cuban 

 leaf is always sold without any difficulty, but 

 for several years this industry has been suffering 

 from a drop in price ; our revolutions and the 

 unjustifiable strikes of the tobacco workers have 

 been responsible for the increased manufacture of 

 cigars in greater quantities in other countries, 

 especially in the United States." 



On Sept. 17, President Gomez appoint- 

 ed a commission to make an investiga- 

 tion and to report within four months. 



Against Coupons. 



Governor Asbert has announced that he 

 will take action against the owners of a 

 ■cigarette factory placing coupons in its 

 packages resembling American currency. 



Complaints have come from various parts 

 of the island, and especially from Cien- 

 fuegos, stating that these coupons are be- 

 ing used to swindle unsophisticated farmers 

 and country people. 



Tobacco Conditions. 



]\Iaurice Winter, of Maurice Winter 

 & Co., the leaf packers and dealers in 

 Havana, said Sept. 6 to a representative 

 of "Tobacco:" 



"Of all the tobacco that was raised 

 in the lowland section of the Vuelta 

 Aabjo most is bad. A big percentage of 

 the crop did not cure for lack of rain. 



"Much of it has a greenish cast due 

 to a rain when the tobacco was not 

 ripe. Uncured tobacco has no sweet 

 taste and its aroma is bad. At present 

 there is no more good tooacco in the 

 lowland section, because the rain came 

 at the right time on only a small part 

 of the crop. 



"The favored section was so small a 

 portion of the crop that the choice to- 

 bacco is not now on the market. The 

 choice tobacco happened to be ripe when 



it caught the rain. It burns much bet- 

 ter and has a better taste. It is much 

 better tobacco than has been raised in 

 the last two years. The tobacco in 

 other than the lowland Vuelta Abajo is 

 better than we have had for years and 

 years. In other sections, where it did 

 not rain, or where farmers packed before 

 it rained and did not give it tiine to 

 cure it is as bad as two years ago." 



Tobacco Exports. 



Exports of tobacco for the months of 

 July, 1908 and 1909, are given in the fol- 

 lowing table : 



1909. 

 Quantities. Value. 



Bales 26,394 $1,271,259 



Cigars 13.882,268 983,640 



Cigarettes (pack.) . . 1,091,544 29.015 



Picadura (kilos) .. 33,207 19.343 



Total $2,303,257 



1908. 

 Quantities. Value. 



Bales 25.467 $1,526,294 



Cigars 14,430.076 929,741 



Cigarettes (pack.) . . 614,230 18,057 



Picadura (kilos) .. 18.195 14,620 



Total $2,488,712 



— El Tabaco, Havana. 

 The principal countries to which the 

 greater part of the cigars were shipped, were 

 the following: 



To England 5,140,840 Cigars 



" the United States .... 3,897,978 " 



" Germany 2,631,533 " 



" Canada 662,825 " 



" South America 650,197 " 



" Spain 225,550 " 



Exports of cigars from January 1 to 

 July 31, 1909, were 105,770,837, as against 

 105,136.382 for the same period in 1908, 

 when the cigarmakers strike was on. 



Ever since the strike of the cigarmakers 

 in the summer of 1907 the Cuban cigar 

 making trade has been in bad shape, and 

 the industry is being transferred to Tampa 

 and Key West. 



Figures taken from the official returns 

 show the number of cigars shipped from 

 the port of Havana to all parts of the world 

 to be as follows : 

 Total from Jan. 1, 1909, to Aug. 



31, 1909 118,319,602 



Total from Jan. 1, 1908, to Aug. 



31, 1908 122.186.215 



Decrease in 1909 3,866.613 



