68 



U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 



sidered specialties rather than staples. Occasionally some of the 

 dealers import small consignments of pickled fish and smoked fish, 

 but the trade in these specialties is chiefly in the hands of two firms 

 in Porto Alegre. 



Pound bricks of fish packed in 40-pound boxes are unknown in 

 this market. The trade in imported fish is rather limited, because 

 the supply of fresh fish is good and quite abundant for local demand. 

 There is, however, an active movement in Norwegian codfish shipped 

 through England. No official statistics segregated for this consular 

 district are available, and on account of considerable transhipment 

 of freight at Rio de Janeiro it has not been possible to obtain an 

 estimate of the approximate quantity of preserved fish imported into 

 this district. 



PARAGUAY. 



ASUNCION. 



[By Harry Campbell, consul, October 26, 1921.] 



Since Paraguay is located approximately 1,000 miles from the 

 ocean, local fishing is limited to the large rivers, the Paraguay and the 

 Parana, and their many smaller tributaries. Although fish in these 

 streams are quite plentiful and are used extensively as food for the 

 inhabitants of the country, there are no statistics available of the 

 total production or consumption, with the exception of the quantities 

 sold in the central market of Asuncion, amounting to 156,860 pounds 

 for the six-months period January 1 to June 30, 1921. These are for 

 the most part fresh fish, and little effort is made locally to cure or 

 prepare the native fish for sale or export. 



The fish imported are largely canned salmon and sardines, the 1920 

 imports of the latter, with the quantities in kilos and pounds, and the 

 values in Argentine gold pesos, being as follows: 



Country of origin. 



United States 



France 



Portugal 



Argentina 



Spain 



Coimtry of origin. 



England . . 

 others 



Total 



Kilos. 



1,050 

 1,565 



60, 004 



Pounds. 



2,310 

 3,443 



132, 009 



Pesos. 



262 

 393 



15, 123 



The Government statistics do not indicate the imports of salmon 

 and other canned fish except as they may be included in a miscel- 

 laneous item covering canned fish, as well as vegetables, which 

 amounted in 1920 to 40,823 kilos (89,811 pounds), valued at 12,284 

 Argentine gold pesos. It is not possible to state what proportion of 

 this amount is fish products, but probably less than half, since the 

 figures for sardines are not included therein. 



Although the imports of sardines from the United States are small 

 compared with the other countries mentioned, such a proportion 

 would not be shown in the importation of salmon, of which it is esti- 

 mated that considerably more than 50 per cent is of North American 

 origin. The American salmon is preferred to the European brands, 

 although the latter, owing to lower prices, are able to compete at the 

 present time in that part of the trade that demands low prices re- 



