THE CUBA REVIEW. 



TO-DAY'S INDUSTRIAL AND TRADE CONDITIONS IN CUBA. 



The Resources of the Island — Opportunities for the Sale of American Products — 

 Market Requirements Which Should be Observed. 



U. S. Consular and Trade Report, December 7, 1907. 



Special Agent A. C. Butman, of the 

 United States government, submits a re- 

 port on conditions in Cuba which is very 

 complete and which will be found inform- 

 ing and helpful to merchants and manu- 

 facturers soliciting the trade of the island. 

 A synopsis of the report follows : 



Although nearly every 

 Sugar portion of the island is 



suited to cane-growing, it is 

 estimated that not more than 2,000,000 

 acres (about one-fourteenth of the entire 

 total acreage) is under cane cultivation. 

 The opportunities for a profitable develop- 

 ment of this industry are great. We have 

 only to consider the milhons of acres 

 adapted to such cultivation to realize the 

 incalculable wealth of the island. 



Cuban tobacco is of supe- 

 Tobacco rior grade. Pinar del Rio, 

 Cultivation the extreme western prov- 

 and Trade, ince, is the home of the 

 highest grade leaf grown, 

 and nearly three-fourths of the total _ to- 

 bacco acreage of the island is contained 

 in this province. The tobacco industry 

 gives employment to about 100,000 persons. 

 The cigarmaker's wage varies, _ an expert in 

 making selected sizes sometimes earning 

 $50 a week; a person employed in making 

 the highest-grade cigars receives for the 

 work 15 to 20 cents each; others from $10 

 to $15 per week. 



In 1906 tobacco and manufactures of to- 

 bacco were valued at $36,702,586, an in- 

 crease of $7,286,624 over the previous year. 

 The home consumption during the fiscal 

 year ending June 30, 1907, amounted to 



$12,334,154- 



The possibilities of culti- 

 Citrus vation of citrus fruits in 



Fruits. Cuba are great. The esti- 

 mated cost of establishing a 

 ID-acre orange grove on land valued at $50 

 an acre is as follows: Land, $500; clear- 

 ing, $250; planting, $150; 900 trees, $225; 

 care for five years, $1,500; total, $2,625. 

 Some fruit may be expected the third year. 

 Varieties of oranges which have proven 

 most satisfactory for cultivation in Cuba 

 are the Pineapple and Valencia, the former 

 an early and the latter a later variety. In 

 grape fruit Marsh's seedless and Duncan 

 are the two varieties favored for planting. 

 The commercial possibilities of lemon and 

 lime growing as an industry are as yet an 

 unknown quantity in Cuba, though the trees 

 grow wild and bear abundantly. 



The pineapple is indigenous to the isl- 

 and. The first shipment of "pines" from 

 Cuba was made to New York in 1870, and 



* See article on The Pineapple and Its Culture, 

 and expert statistics on pages 21-24. 



the industry is now an important and 

 profitable one.* The demands of the mar- 

 ket are large. Sucker plants are worth 

 $20 to $25 per 1,000 and an acre of pine- 

 apples yields suihcient plants to stock three 

 to five additional acres. 



British interests are esti- 

 En gland's mated at $100,000,000 in rafl- 

 Trade with road, shipping industries and 

 Cuba. real estate. Cuba's trade with 



England for the calendar 

 year 1906 showed a trade balance very 

 much in favor of England. British pur- 

 chases are cigars, tobacco, rum and hard 

 woods. Her sales, cotton and linen tex- 

 tiles, iron and steel. English manufacturers 

 seem to have an exact knowledge of Cuba's 

 needs, but Mr. Butman does not consider 

 this a sufficient reason for the failure of 

 the American trade to secure this business. 

 Importations of cotton textiles from the 

 United States are confined to the cheaper 

 grades. 



There is an enormous de- 

 Laces, Silk mand for cheap cotton laces. 

 Ribbons and Hamburg embroideries, and 

 Clothing. silk ribbon. France furnishes 

 a good supply of these goods 

 and also perfumes, etc. Men's tailors do a 

 good business. Linens for. suits come from 

 Spain, but cashmeres, alpacas and cot- 

 ton weaves come from the United King- 

 dom. 



American ready-made clothing, men's un- 

 derwear, etc., besides women's shirtwaists 

 and skirts find ready sale in Cuba. 



The statistics for five years 

 Shoes and past show an increase in 

 Leather. shoes and leathers from 

 $698,277 in 1903 to $2,207,854 

 in 1907. Shoe manufacturing, as the term 

 is understood in the United S'tates, is un- 

 known in Cuba. Cobblers shops abound, 

 and in some cities a native shoe is made 

 which is very cheap and very crude. The 

 American shoe is most popular, and the 

 trade has been developed simply by con- 

 forming to local tastes. Men's goods dif- 

 fer little from the accepted American last. 

 Women want shoes on Spanish lines, a 

 long, narrow last, straight, with high in- 

 step and Cuban or Louis XV. heel. Orig- 

 inal American shapes have but a moderate 

 sale outside of Americans. Light-weight 

 shoes suitable to the climate have the 

 preference. 



Spanish shoes, both men's 



Styles and women's, sell for $2.50 



and to $6 per pair. American 



Prices. prices are from $3 to $7 per 



pair and higher for finest 



grades. Canvas goods lack popularity. Vici 



and glace kids and patent colt in black and 



russets are preferred. 



