30 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



THE SUGAR INDUSTRY 



that the Chinese Government has been con- 

 ducting experiments for some time with a 

 view to introducing sugar-beet culture in 

 China. Experiments have been greatly inter- 

 fered with Isy the difficulty of securing seed, 

 which is said to have increased in price from 

 $8 to $58 per bushel, with very little to be 

 had at any price; but sugar men here are of 

 the opinion that the day is not very far dis- 

 tant when China will produce most if not all, 

 of the sugar required for its people and thus re- 

 lease a large amount of Java and Philippine 

 sugar for use in other parts of the world. 



SUGAR-MILL MACHINERY SITUATION IN 

 CUBA 



In 1914, in six leading sugar mills of Cuba, 

 the average extraction was 91, the maximum 

 93.5; in Hawaii the average was 95.46, the 

 maximum over 98. The high results obtained 

 in Hawaii since the installation of modern 

 machinery have awakened Cuban planters to 

 the possibilities that lie at their own doors, 

 and they are using a large part of their war- 

 time profits for the purchase of new equip- 

 ment. 



For the time l^eing British, German, and 

 French machinery is out of the market here, 

 and the trade is practically in the hands of 

 American firms. A Louisiana company that 

 builds its own machinery and mill equipment, 

 contracting for a factory complete, has done a 

 $3,000,000 business the past year. The opera- 

 tions here of a Missouri corporation that builds 

 and sells mill crushing and grinding machinery 

 only aggregated fully $2,000,000 for the 

 twelve-month, and a Pennsylvania firm en- 

 gaged in the same lines completed contracts 

 that totaled $500,000. The year's business of 

 two important contracting engineers, who do 

 not manufacture machinery themselves, but 

 buy their equipment in the United States, 



ran into the millions. An Hawaiian iron 

 works that builds complete mill outfits has 

 a staff of engineers now in Cuba drawing 

 plans for new factories. 



Faulty Packing Threatens Success of American 

 Exporters. 



British, German and French companies 

 have had the bulk of this trade in the past. 

 There is no doubt that American manufac- 

 turing and engineering firms are getting the 

 business now, but whether or not thej- will be 

 able to hold it when their European competi- 

 tors are again in the field is quite another 

 question. They assuredly will lose much of 

 it if greater attention is not given to the 

 packing and marking of their Cuban ship- 

 ments. 



Specific instances of faulty packing and 

 crude delivery methods on the part of Ameri- 

 can firms have been brought to my atten- 

 tion during my stay in Cuba. Two centrals 

 that had ordered machinery in the United 

 States especially for this seasons's grinding did 

 not receive it until after the season started; 

 and when the cases did arrive, owing to 

 wretched packing and marking there was 

 a lamentable mix up of parts. A contract for 

 furnishing certain truck cars complete re- 

 sulted in receiving the bodies from a concern 

 in New Jersey and the wheels from a firm in 

 Indiana, weeks apart in delivery. In other 

 instances machinery parts were sent to the 

 wrong address. 



Poor American packing was supposed to 

 have ended after all that has been said and 

 written on the subject, but it is again crop- 

 ping out in Cuba and at a most inopportune 

 time. — -Special Agent F. J. Sheridan, Cama- 



guey. 



SUGAR BEETS 



France, crop, 1915, 1,909,900 metric tons. 

 France, crop, 191(5, 1,148,070 metric tons. 



IMPORTS AND EXPORTS 



Total values of merchandise imported from and exported to Cuba during November and 

 the 11 months ended November, 1916, compared with corresponding periods of the preceding 

 year have just been made public by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of 

 the Department of Commerce, as fellows: 



Month of November 11 months ended November 



1916 1915 1916 1915 



Imports from Cuba . $16,426,736 $10,405,393 $234,620,173 $187,489,262 



Exports to Cuba.... $16,865,910 $10,694,766 $145,851,803 $83,823,172 



