THE CUBA REVIEW 



19 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



TRADE OF BOSTON AND KEY WEST USE OF CHECKS UNDEVELOPED 



IN CUBA 



TRADE OF KEY WEST 



Tlie importations of Key West from 

 Cuba for the calendar A-ear 1912 total as 

 follows : 



Not dutiaijle Dutiable 



$44,202 $925,219 



The principal imports were : 



Tobacco $748,052 



Pineapples 121,811 



Aguacates 16,797 



Cedar 11,147 



Mangoes 3,441 



Bananas 1,694 



Yuca 1,662 



Cofifee 1.342 



Sweet potatoes 1,162 



The principal items of export were : 



Lard $1,170,898 



Eggs 645,655 



Salt pork 217,695 



Fertilizer 86,024 



Sausage 72,501 



Cotton goods 56.618 



Salt meats 34,198 



Oats 23,555 



Medical products 18,032 



Lumber 14,013 



Corn 12,483 



Wheat flour 36,095 



Fresh meat 11,365 



Fresh fish ; 9,668 



Condensed Milk 6,221 



etc. etc. 



Total exports to Cuba for 1912 were 

 $2,560,924. 



HAVANA S CUSTOMS RECEIPTS 



Havana's customs receipts continue to 

 show gains during the last six months of 

 1913 and 1912. The official figures from 

 June 10th to Dcember 31st compare as 

 follows : 



1912 1913 



June 1.623.893 1.S30.429 



July 1.609.223 1.770,528 



August 1.628.150 1.866.382 



September 1.560,817 1,957,918 



October 1,739.174 1,941,320 



November 2.191,747 1,929.107 



December 1.884.225 1.912.191 



The increase in 1913 amounted _ to 

 $970,703. Previous 'Decemlier collections 

 were : 



1911 $1,623,514 



1910 1.597.255 



1909 1,506.085 



boston's TRADE WITH CUBA 



During 1912 Boston's imports from Cuba 

 totalled $11,365,622 and the exports to Cuba 

 $381,152. 

 _ The imports show the following prin- 

 cipal articles with comparisons : 



1911 



$765,380 



5,690.7,37 



229,916 



71,750 



18,399 



2,845 



1912 



Tobacco $1,117,681 



Sugar 9,903,220 



Bananas 209,897 



^lolasses 112,084 



Wax 2.030 



Honey 4.131 



Other products of Cuba of which Boston 

 is a great consumer, such as pineapples, 

 oranges and grapefruit, come to the city 

 by way of New York. — Report of Cuban 

 consul. 



PORT OF ENTRY WANTED 



A bill is before Congress asking for an 

 appropriation of $3,800 to establish a cus- 

 tom house at Arroyo de Mantua, Pinar del 

 Rio Province. The bill states that Pinar 

 del Rio is without a port of entry, and 

 sufTered a great commercial loss in conse- 

 quence. It was pointed out that the har- 

 bor of Mantua had deep w^ater. was of easy 

 access to vessels, and otherwise fitted for 

 a port of call and entry. 



FEW CHECK-WRITING MACHINES USED 

 IN THE ISLAND 



Few check-writing machines are used in 

 Cuba. The majority of the business houses 

 are Spanish ; and, while they have adopted 

 the American check system with little va- 

 riation, they prefer to have the writing done 

 by hand for the sake of safety and con- 

 formitj' with long-established custom. Fur- 

 thermore, the use of checks is less devel- 

 oped in Cuba than in the United States or 

 Canada, the Spanish business man adher- 

 ing to the practice of making most of his 

 disbursements in cash from his strong box. 



The banks with American, Spanish, Cana- 

 dian, and German affiliations and a few 

 modern business institutions, such as the 

 American mining companies and sugar 

 mills, are already supplied with check-writ- 

 ing machines. There seems, therefore, to 

 be little opportunity at present for the de- 

 velopment of a market for this article. — 

 Report of United .States Consul General 

 James L. Rodgers, Havana. 



