T H E C U B A R E V I E W 15 



CUBAN MARKET FOR PORTLAND CEMENT 



ITS MANY VALUABLE USES IN GENERAL DEMAND IN CUBA 



AND IMPORTS INCREASING 



Within the last decade Portland cement has become a very important item in Cuba's 

 import trade, says United States Deputy Consul General Henry P. Starrett at Havana. 

 Its usefulness in tropical countries is demonstrated in many ways, and this is especially 

 true of the conditions in Cuba. On account of the lack of cheap building lumber and 

 municipal building regulations, most of the houses in Cuban cities are constructed of 

 stone, brick and mortar, or a mixture of broken stone and mortar. While these building 

 materials are still used to a large extent, each year notes a considerable advance in the 

 use of cement and concrete for houses and large buildings. A considerable portion of 

 the imported cement is used in constructing docks, street pavements, sidewalks, curb- 

 stones, floor tiles, and for ornamental work of every description. Certain Cuban artisans 

 have acquired great proficiency in working up cement imitations of stone, tree trunks 

 and even plants and leaves. Tints are used to imitate the colors of the subject, and' the 

 efifect is generally very attractive. 



The manufacture of Ciuban floor tile consumes a large amount of cement, hence the 

 yearly increase in business. In this connection a brief description of the Cuban floor 

 tile and its manufacture may be interesting to manufacturers of similar material in 

 the United States. Cuban floor tile is 8 by 8 by % inches in size and is made by 

 either a European or an American hydraulic tile machine which turns out one, two or 

 four tiles at each operation. The colored cements are placed in the machine by hand 

 and are kept separate by a design or pattern made of thin steel. When the colors are 

 all worked in the pattern is removed and the material is then placed under heavy pres- 

 sure, after which the tile is taken out and left to dry for several weeks. When properly 

 "cured" and laid these tiles make a very sanitary and attractive floor; hence their 

 universal use. As nearly every town house in Cuba has most of its floor area covered 

 with tile, it will be seen that its manufacture is bound to be a very important item in 

 Cuba's industrial development. 



Statistics of the Cuban government show that the total importation of cement during 

 the first fiscal year of the Cuban republic (1902-3) amounted to 169,467 barrels; the 

 importation for the fiscal year of 1910-11 (the last available statistics) amounted to 

 854,806 barrels, or an increase in eight years of over 500 per cent. In the fiscal year 

 1902-3 the United States furnished 93,638 barrels, or about 55 per cent of the im- 

 portation; while in the fiscal year 1909-10 (the latest available statistics as to countries) 

 the United States furnished 576,391 barrels out of a total importation for that year of 

 649,766 barrels, or about 90 per cent. The percentage furnished by the United States 

 for the fiscal year 1910-11 is abowt the same — 90 per cent of the total. 



The closest competitor of the United States for the Cuban trade in cement during 

 this eight-year period was Belgium, that country furnishing in 1902-3 34,416 barrels, or 

 20 per cent of the importation, and in 1909-10 43,233 barrels, or about 7 per cent, ^f the 

 importation. From these figures it will be seen that not only has the United States 

 maintained its share of the trade but has increased its proportion from 55 per cent in 

 1902-3 to 90 per cent in 1910-11. The following table demonstrates these facts more 

 clearly, showing the importations by countries for 1902-3 and 1909-10: 



Countries • 1902-3 1909-10 



Barrels Barrels 



United States 93,638 576,391 



Belgium 34.416 43,233 



France 13,362 18,505 



Germanv 11,865 1.954 



Great Britain 7,666 7,088 



Other countries 8,520 2.595 



Total 169,467 649,766 



The total f )r the year 1910-11 was 854,806 barrels, the statistics by countries for that 

 year not being available. 



The only cement factory of any importance in Cuba is that of the Almendares Ce- 

 ment Co., on the banks of the Almendares River about 3 miles from Havana. This 

 plant has a daily capacity of 300 to 500 barrels. Figuring its maximum capacity, the 

 total yearly c^utput. which is consumed entirely in the island, amounts to about 150,000 

 barrels, and this, together with about 850,000 barrels imported, makes a yearly cement 



