THE CUBA REVIEW 



23 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



CUBAN MARKET FOR AMERICAN TEXTILES 



Althoujih the I'nitcd States buys four- 

 fifths of Cuba's exports and sells more than 

 half of all the goods Cuba Ijuys abroad, Anieri - 

 can manufacturers supplied less than one- 

 fourth of the cotton and wooJen textiles im- 

 ported into the island during the normal 

 years preceding the war, and this in spite of 

 the fact that the tariff on cotton goods from 

 the United States is 30 i)er cent less than that 

 applied to similar goods from other countries. 

 According to a new report issued by the 

 Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 

 of the Department of Commerce, the United 

 States is the logical source of supply for Cuban 

 purchasers of textile- and should be able to 

 obtain a much larger share of the business in 

 the next few years. 



Until within a comparatively few years, 

 says Special Agent W. A. Tucker, author of 

 the report, .American manufacturers have i)aid 

 relatively 1 ittle attention to the Cuban market, 

 partly owing to the fact that prior to the en- 

 actment of the reciprocity treaty there was 

 little opportunity to build up a trade that 

 was worth the effort involved. Since the es- 

 tablishment of the Republic conditions have 

 changed matei-ially, so that in 1914, Cuba 

 ranked fourth as a purchaser of American 

 cotton goods, its purchases being exceeded 

 only bj' those of Canada, the Philippines, and 

 China. 



The climate of Cuba is such that cotton 

 goods are used for clothing by both sexes 

 through the greater part of the year, and it is 

 safe to say that a large proportion of the 

 population is dressed in cotton, both winter 

 and summer, as the winters are not cjld. 

 The entire supply of cotton goods, both for 

 wearing apparel and for household use must 

 be imported, with the single exception of a 

 relatively small quantity of terry towels 

 manufactured on the island. 



During the fiscal year 1914, which was nor- 

 mal, Cuba purchased abroad .$10,500,000 

 worth of cotton goods, of which 34.13 per 

 cent came from England, 21.47 per cent from 

 the United States, 15.38 per cent from Spain, 

 11.70 per cent from France, and 8.05 per cent 

 from Germany. A number of other countries 

 contributed smaller amounts. In 1915, the 

 United States took the lead with 35.44 per 

 cent, England's share fell off to 30.10 per 



cent, S])ain showed a slight increase to 15.75 

 per cent, French sales decreased to 5.39 per 

 cent, and (iermany's share was onlj' 3.34 per 

 cent, the total imports amounting to $9,609,- 

 968. It seems certain that so long as the ])res- 

 ent abnormal conditions continue .American 

 cotton will gain. 



The imports of woolen goods amoimt to 

 only alx)ut 10 per cent of the imports of cot- 

 ton goods, and by far the 1 argest share is sup- 

 plied l)y England, France in normal times 

 being second, Spain third, and the United 

 States a poor fourth. Tiiere is an increasing 

 demand for woolen fabrics, and although 

 Cuba wil 1 never be a great consumer of these 

 cloths it will require only a little effort to in- 

 crease considerably the annual consumption. 

 American manufacturers have not paid this 

 market the attention it deserves, and in some 

 cases when representatives were sent, they 

 were not the right men for the «Tok. When 

 properly represented American firms have no 

 difficulty in selling goods. 



The new report is the first of a series on tex- 

 tile markets in Latin America. It is entitled 

 "Textiles in Cuba," Special Agents Series 

 No 126. Most of the 56 pages are devoted to 

 a careful analysis of the trade in the different 

 kinds of cloth, technical and definite encu'gh 

 to be of practical value to the manufacturer 

 and exporter. There are also chapters on the 

 general conditions governing the trade. 



IMPORTANT CONSTRUCTION WORK IN CUBA 



[Special Agent W. W. Swing, Hahana.\ 



Architects and contractors in Cuba report 

 tnat business in their line is now active. Large 

 fields in agriculture, industries, and comm_erce 

 rem.ain to be developed. Several new sugar 

 m-ills already are in course of construction and 

 others are projected for grinding during the 

 coming season. One of the important mills is 

 thB Nueva Era in tne Province of Pinar del 

 Rio, belonging to the Cia. Azucarera Hispano- 

 Cubana, the president of which is Gen. Emilio 

 Nunez, Halmna. The contract for the con- 

 struction of this mill, it is reported, has not 

 yet been awarded. 



Railway extension and new construction is 

 being projected on a considerable scale. 

 Among the works already authorized by the 

 Cuban Government are a fine projected by 

 the Cul)a Railroad Co., from Camamgae}- to 



