34 THE CUBA REVIEW 
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Sugar Review 
Specially written for THE CUBA REVIEW by Willett & Gray. 
About the time of our last review of the sugar market, which was dated September 26, 
1921, the Cuban Committee reduced their views on Cuban sugar to the basis of 2°. 
eost and freight. This announcement of a price adjustment had the effect of changing 
the sugar situation from a dull and uninteresting market to an active one. Most of 
our refiners started to buy sugar at the new price and sales were made totaling probably 
100,000 tons. Later in the month, however, the market quieted down and became 
unsettled due to conditions in the refined sugar situation, in view of which conditions 
the Cuban Committee found it necessary to again reduce their views, which they did on 
October 14th to a basis of 21%e. cost and freight for Cubas, equal to 4.11e. duty paid 
at New York, and at which level moderate sales have since been made both here and 
for shipment abroad. Owing to the possibility of a railroad strike in the United States, 
the market became more active and the Committee was able to dispose of what unsold 
Cuban sugars they had in the port of New York. A considerable amount of Philippine 
sugar has been disposed of recently on the basis of 4c. c.1.f. New York for November 
arrival, and when the balance of these sugars is disposed of, some 15,000 tons, there will 
be no further sugars available in quantity except Cubas, until the new crops come to 
hand, Porto Ricos, ete., having all been disposed of. ; 
In connection with new crops, Porto Rico is reported to have disposed of some sugars 
and we also hear that new crop San Domingo sugars have been sold to Canadian re- 
finers. There also seems to be a desire in instances on the part of Cuban planters to 
sell their entire new crop, and in this respect some centrals have already completed 
negotiations with our refiners for their entire outputs. All the new crop transactions are 
based on certain average quotations, depending on price prevailing at the time of the 
arrival of the sugars. 
The Cuban Commercial Mission have published the memorandum submitted to 
the United States Secretary of State, which lack of space prevents us from publishing 
in full. We extract the following from the memorandum: 
“This Reciprocity Treaty was concluded on December 11, 1902, since which time 
the Cuban tariff has not undergone a single change. American products enter Cuba 
today under the same terms as when the treaty was signed, while Cuban sugars are 
called upon now to pay $1.60 duty per 100 pounds as against $1.00 per 100 pounds in 
force last May. This additional duty will eventually be passed on to the consumer 
and will not be paid, in this case, by the Cuban producer, once the present sugar stocks 
are reduced; but the fact remains that the United States continental sugars and those 
from her insular possessions will have the advantage over Cuba of $1.60 against $1.00 
per 100 pounds under the former tariff bill. 
“It is on this ground, particularly, that the Cuban producer and our country feel 
that we are not receiving fair and equitable treatment. The situation resulting there- 
from can be examined from two standpoints—economically and politically. 
‘Cuba has lived up to all the terms of her Reciprocity Treaty with the United States, 
her tariff has not been changed once during that period, and the immense advantages 
derived by the American people from the said treaty, may be summed up as follows: 
“A. As a seller, Cuba supplies the United States with more than 50% of the latter’s 
consumption of sugar, at the lowest price obtainable in the world today, and Cuba can 
afford to do so because she can produce more cheaply than any other country. 
“B. As a buyer, Cuba imported from the United States in 1920 (calendar year) 
$515,082,540.00 (over one-half billion dollars), which is more than all the Spanish-speak- 
ing countries of South America combined bought from the United States during the 
same period, and very close to the quantity imported by France, a country with fifty 
millions of inhabitants as against Cuba’s two and three-fourths millions. Cuba’s place 
as an importer of American products was last year the fourth, and she, furthermore. 
