December 1, 1920 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



211 



Industrial rubber goods are produced in the district, much of the 

 local consumption being of domestic origin. A considerable quan- 

 tity of this class of manufactures is exported. 



American rubber goods have a very satisfactory standing in the 

 Glasgow market, but there is a tendency on the part of the con- 

 sumer to buy domestic goods when they are obtainable, and at 

 an equal price. American tires, rubber boots and shoes, and drug- 

 gists' sundries are all well known and meet with a good demand. 

 In other lines local competition is stronger, and foreign products 

 meet with less success. 



FOREIGN TARIFFS 



COSTA RICA 



La Gaccta, of Costa .Rica, for July 8 contains a copy of a law 

 dated July 6, 1920, whereby the Government is authorized to 

 double the import duties on certain goods. Among these are 

 listed rubber-bulbed scent sprayers, which formerly were taxed 

 at 2 colones per kilogram, and elastics and garters, formerly 

 taxed at 2 colones, SO cents per kilogram. 



AUSTRALIA 



The Department of Trade and Customs, Australia, impose a 

 general taritT of 15 per cent ad valorem on imports of Hexible 

 cotton-braided cable, containing rubber, or covered with rubber 

 and cotton tape. British preferential tariff on this item admits 

 these goods free. 



BRAZIL 



The Belgian Government will henceforth be granted a rebate 

 of 20 per cent by Brazil on customs duties of seven Belgian 

 staples including certain rubber manufactures noted in Article 

 1033 of customs tariff. On all these articles, including several 

 others, the United States enjoys a similar rebate. 



LATVIA 



Recent additions to the Latvian import tariff (as cited by the 

 British consul at Riga) include waterproof overcoats, taxable 

 at 5 per cent ad valorem, and rubber footwear, on which a duty 

 of 10 f)cr cent ad valorem is levied. 



SWITZERLAND 



Further relaxations of the Swiss export restrictions authorize, 

 by a decision of the Swiss Federal Department of Public 

 Economy issued September 14, 1920, the exportation of certain 

 articles under a General E.xport license. Item No. 529 on the 

 list includes articles of rubber and gutta percha, not previously 

 mentioned in tlie Swiss Customs Tariff. 



IMPORTS OF RUBBER TIRES INTO SOUTH AFRICA 



The value of all rubber tires, including inner tubes, imported 

 into the Union of South .Africa during the years 1918 and 1919, 

 was as follows : 



From — 1918 1919 Krom^ 1918 1919 



United Kingdoni.$I, 090,066 $963,903 Japan $10,873 $3,319 



Canada 44,875 242.288 United SUtes. . 548,562 714,719 



France 76.983 400,703 



Italy 50,822 78,313 Total $1,822,181 $2,403,245 



The customs duty on rubber tires imported into South Africa 

 is 20 per cent ad valorem. A rebate of 3 per cent is granted on 

 the products or manufactures of the United Kingdom and recip- 

 rocating British colonies. In 1919 there were 9,000 motor cars 

 of all descriptions registered in the Cape Province, most of which 

 were of American make, consisting of the lighter and medium- 

 priced cars. There were also registered at that time 4,117 motor 

 cycles. 



A list of importers of automobiles and accessories in Cape 

 Town can be obtained from the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic 

 Commerce or its district 6r cooperative offices by referring to 

 file No. BE-6004.—COJI! mcrrt Reports, October 11, 1920. 



JAPANEISE RUBBER STATISTICS 



Rul)ber and rubber goods appear for the first time among the 



list of principal exports from Japan to the United States in 1919; 



shipments were valued at $1,598,469, as against $14,569 in 1918 



The following figures give the value of imports of crude rubber 



and gutta percha into Japan during 1919, and the leading countries 



of origin : 



Articles am] countries of origin. \'alue. 



India rubber and gutta-percha, crude $8,656,050 



British India 205.687 



Straits Settlements 7.912,647 



Dutch India 21,775 



United Kingdom 356,729 



United States 151,174 



Other countries 8,038 



RUBBER TRADE OF THE BELGIAN CONGO 



Rubber has long been a standard ex[>ort of the Congo, but 

 the first cultivated plantations in the colony came of age to be 

 profitably worked only in 1914. These new plantations should 

 add greatly to the commercial value of Congo rublier exports, 

 as the rubber trade gives preference to cultivated rubber over 

 the wild products. The withdrawal of Russia from the rubber 

 market and the diversion of native lalxjr from the gathering 

 of rubber to the gathering of oil products have hindered develop- 

 ment in the field of rubber exports, as has also the lack ot culti- 

 vated plantations in the Congo. In spite of these difficulties, the 

 situation has begun to improve, and further increases in exporta- 

 tion can be expected for the future. The following figures show 

 the exports of rubber since 1912: 



Year Value 



1912 Ions tons 3,454 $6,712,182 



1913 3,567 3,416,693 



1914 2,213 2,052,279 



1915 2,144 2,144,163 



1916 2,969 3.373,090 



1917 3,700 3,918,894 



THE RUBBER INDUSTRY IN BRAZIL 

 By a Special Correspondent 



IT would seem that experience, resulting from previous disas- 

 trous attempts at valorization, is of no profit to those anxious 

 for the welfare of rubber in Brazil. The Revista Commercial, 

 Industrial e Agricola do Para, the organ of the Associagao Com- 

 mercial do Para, publishes a report by Amando Mendes of his 

 trip to Rio de Janeiro, as delegate of the association, to lay 

 before the authorities there a plan of intervention by the Gov- 

 ernment through the Bank of Brazil, in the aid of the local 

 rubber market. The delegate was well received, but his plan was 

 not thought much of and intervention was flatly refused. 

 In an earlier issue of the Revista, R. C. M. da Costa very frankly 

 said that the trouble with the Brazilian rubber industry was 

 the aversion to any methodical undertaking; ignorance, lack of 

 perseverance, unwillingness to get out of the rut ; a tendency to 

 take what nature gives without expending creative energy — all 

 of which leads to that frame of mind where the people wish to 

 improve their lot by cursing the scientific plantations in the East. 

 From the same writer comes practically the only sound sug- 

 gestion — to renew, by planting, the forests which have been ex- 

 hausted first because of their accessibility. 



IMPORTS OF AUTOMOBILE TIRES 



During the last seven years pneumatic tires were imported to 

 a value of 20,545 contos (one conto equals $546 United States 

 currency) of reis. The amount for 1913 was 2,306 contos; for 

 1914, 1,617 contos; for 1915, 2,274 contos; for 1916, 3,164 contos; 

 for 1917, 3,547 contos; for 1918, 2,549 contos; for 1919, 5,088 

 contos. 



Before the war almost all of the tires came from France. In 

 1913, over 50 per cent came from France ; 21 per cent came from 

 Germany ; Great Britain and Italy accounted for about 8 per 

 cent each, while the United States sent only 3 per cent of the 

 total value. However, during the war, the proportions under- 



