26 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



MANUFACTURING COMPANY IN 

 MATANZAS 



It is reported that :i new company has 

 been organized in Matanzas to manufac- 

 ture railroad cars to supply the needed 

 rolling stock to Cuban railroads. The ma- 

 chinery for the factory will he of the most 

 modern type, and imported from the 

 United States. The site chosen for the 

 factory is on the San Juan River, near 

 Pueblo Nuevo. 



PRICE OF CHARCOAL 



United States Consul II. C. von Strave, 

 Havana, has made an interesting report 

 on the prices paid in Havana for char- 

 coal. He stated that the wholesale and re- 

 tail prices paid for charcoal in Havana 

 are controlled by the Government, but 

 there are no generally ruling fixed prices 

 set by the authorities, as prices in all cas 'S 

 are based on the cost of production. The 

 charcoal consumed in Havana is all 

 shipped in from other parts of the Island, 

 and is sold directly by the producer to the 

 retailer. The producer is required to make 

 an itemized sworn statement in connection 

 with each shipment of the cost of produc- 

 ing the charcoal and shipping it to mar- 

 ket ; he is permitted to charge the retailer 

 only the cost of production plus an ad- 

 vance of 10 per cent. The retailer in turn 

 cannot sell the charcoal at a higher price 

 than the wholesale price plus 15 per cent. 

 As local conditions where charcoal is pro- 

 duced vary to some extent, the cosl of pro- 

 duction necessarily is not uniform. In the 

 wholesale market charcoal is dealt in by 

 the "carreton," which, translated, means 

 a large cartload, and consists of 28 stand- 

 ard sugar sacks tilled with charcoal. The 

 cost of production of a carreton of char- 

 coal varies from $60 (<» $82, the usual cost 

 being between $70 and $75. In the retail 

 trade charcoal is sold in decaliters, a sack 

 containing 16 decaliter.-;. A decaliter is 

 equal to 610.25 cubic inches or a fraction 

 more than a peck. The retail price of 

 charcoal costing $75 per •'carreton" to pro- 



duce would therefore be 20 cents per deca- 

 liter. 



As no statistics are available showing 

 the amount of charcoal used, no intelli- 

 gent estimate can be obtained as to the 

 amount consumed per year. The best in- 

 formation obtainable is to the effect that 

 the quantity is very large. The use of 

 charcoal is rapidly decreasing in Havana, 

 however, owing to the greater use of gas 

 and oil. 



TRADE WITH MEXICO 



The value of Cuba's imports from Mex- 

 ico and exports to Mexico for the years 

 101.°, and tins wiis as follows: 



1913 1918 



Imports $92,333 $1,377,351 



Exports $863,938 $1,514,585 



OLIVE OIL IMPORTED FROM SPAIN 



The following table lists quantities id' 

 Spanish olive oil, in metric tons, imported 

 by Cuba for the years 1!)1L' to 1916 in- 

 clusive : 



1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 

 5,687 4.1!).") 5.155 0,937 7,443 



TRADE WITH ARGENTINA 

 The following table shows Cuba's trade 

 with Argentina for the first nine month? 

 of 1918, compared with the same period 

 of the preceding year: 



11)17 191S 



Imports from Argentina . $748,764 $886,635 

 Exports to Argentina. . . $59,911 $160,181 



JAPANESE STEAMSHIP LINE 



The Japanese Asaka Shosen Kaisha 

 Line has established a direct line between 

 Havana and Yokohama for passengers and 

 freight. The first steamer recently left 

 Japan loaded with passengers and 

 Japanese products for Cuba. The recent 

 visit of a Japanese mission in Cuba to 

 study business conditions on the Island 

 Republic with a view of establishing ex- 

 < lusive Japanese branches in Havana is 

 along the lines set by the Japanese for 

 development of commerce with Latin 

 American countries. 



