THE CUBA REVIEW 



17 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



Increasos by (Nnuitrics in the first half of 

 April, 1918, as (•()ini)arc(l witli 1917, were 

 as folloAvs: 



Cigars. 



Spain 858,350 



Great Britain 370,700 



Australia 131,679 



Bolivia 108,000 



France 45,000 



Argentina 41,450 



Chile 17,050 



Total 1,572,229 



Decreases by countries in the fiist fortnight 

 of Apiil, 1918, as compared with 1917, were 

 as follows: 



Cigais. 



United States 568,475 



Denmark 127,000 



Canada 100,650 



Russia 66,225 



Italy 30,000 



Canary Islands 26,500 



Costa Rica 12,400 



Total 931,250 



— Rosam in "Tobacco." 



CANADA IN CUBAN MARKET 



Canada's trade with Cuba is growing rapid- 

 ly, ex]>orts from the Dominion to the island 

 republic reaching new high figures in the past 

 year, according to J. C. Manzer, Canadian 

 Trade Commissioner at Havana, who reports 

 as follows: Cuban imports of potatoes from 

 Canada for the past year were more than 

 double any preceding year, and ruling prices 

 were very much higher than ever before. In 

 the records of Cuban potato imports for 1917, 

 Canada leads all other countries combined, 

 reaching a value of over three million dollars. 

 These were supplied chiefly by the Province 

 of Xova Scotia, Xew Brunswick and Prince 

 Edward Island. Shipments are sent forward 

 weekly, beginning the last of August, as toon 

 as the new crop is harvested, and lasting until 

 the first of July of the following year, giving 

 Canadians ten months of the Cuban potato 

 trade. 



"Canadian ]X)tatoes, because of their fine 

 eating qualities and also because of the greater 

 care given by shippers to the sorting, packing 



and transi)(jrt:ition of these goods, have ac- 

 quired an excellent reputation in Cuba, and 

 Canadi.in potatoes are being sold fifty cents 

 per barrel higher than any others on the mar- 

 ket. This more than offsets the difference in 

 the duty of twelve cents a barrel in favor of 

 potatoes from the United States. Xearly all 

 Canadian potatoes now arriving in Cuba come 

 by steamer from Boston. 



The prices received by Canadian shippers 

 during the past year for potatoes delivered in 

 Cuba averaged over $6 per 180 pounds. The 

 highest price was reached in May, when one 

 lot of one thousand was sold for $11 per sack 

 of 180 pounds. Cuba now buys upward of one 

 million barrels and sacks of potatoes ye irly. 

 Shipments of codfi.sh from Canada to Cuba 

 during 1917 were larger than ever before. 

 During the past year Nova Scotia dealers 

 have been making weekly shipments to Cuba 

 via Boston of from 1,500 to 3.000 cases of 100 

 pounds each. Dealers report a marked im- 

 provement in the quality of the fish from Xova 

 Scotia the past season, the fish being adopted 

 (the process used in Norway of drying by 

 hot air), better cleansed and packed than 

 formerly, and the price has been high all the 

 year. 



A limited quantity of Canadian hay was 

 shipped here the past year and sold for high 

 prices, but the great difficulty in securing 

 transportation during the whole year greatly 

 handicapped the trade. Before the war hay 

 was carried from Canadian points to Cuba via 

 Boston for $10 per ton. It now costs $38 to 

 $33 per ton to bring it over the same route. 



Since 1914 very few Canadian oats have 

 been sent here. Prices have ruled high all the 

 year. Shipments of lumber from Canada dur- 

 ing the past year have been light owing to 

 scarcity of tonnage. 



PROPOSED CUBAN SHIPYARD 



According to a statement in the Cuban 

 press, a new company has been formed to 

 build a shipyard on Cabanas Bay, near 

 Havana. It is proposed to build ocean-going 

 cargo vessels of 8,000 to 10,000 tons and 

 facilities for the construction of six vessels 

 simultaneously are contemplated. 



The company is to be known as the Cuba 

 Star Line, and has a capital of $50,000,000. 



