THE CUBA REVIEW 



23 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



EXEMPTION FROM SURTAX 



The Cuban Government, on June 30, 

 granted exemption from the surtax provided 

 for by decree Xo. 44 of February 1, 1904, to 

 machinery, accessories, and other materials 

 for use in the estabhshment and operation 

 of a rolling mill for iron, steel, and other 

 metals. In the case of most of the articles 

 concerned the surtax amounted to 25% of 

 the duty. A complete list of the exempted 

 articles is on file in the Bureau of Foreign 

 and Domestic Commerce at Washington, 

 and will be loaned to those interested upon 

 application. 



CUSTOMS TARIFF SUPPLEMENT 



A supplement to the Customs Tariff of 

 Cuba, bringing up to date Tariff Series No. 

 27, published in 1911, has just neen issued 

 by the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic 

 Commerce, of the Department of Commerce, 

 as Tariff Series No. 27B. The document 

 contains all the changes made in the Cuban 

 tariff since the issue of the principal pubhca- 

 tion in 1911, including those covered by 

 Tariff Series No. 27A, now out of print. 

 Copies of Tariff Series No. 27B may be 

 obtained by application to the Bureau of 

 Foreign and Domestic Commerce, of the 

 Department of Commerce, while copies of 

 Tariff Series No. 27 are for sale by the 

 Superintendent of Documents, Government 

 Printing office, at 10 cents each. 



SANTIAGO CUSTOM RECEIPTS 



The customs collections of the port of 

 Santiago during the last nine fiscal years 

 compare as follows : 



1905-1906 $2,145,078.6. 



1906-1907 1,875,881.88 



1907-1908 1,875,749.25 



1908-1909 1,530,426.58 



1909-1910 1,652,450 .48 



1910-1911 1,592,142.15 



1911-1912 1,673,324.15 



1912-1913 1,807,812.37 



1913-1914 1,955,832.88 



Total $16,108,698.33 



PINEAPPLE EXPORTS 



The total number of crates of pineapples 

 exported from Havana this year, from 

 January to July, totaled 1,201,646 crates, or 

 56,444 more than in 1913. Comparison with 

 the previous year follow: 



1913 1914 



To New York 789,029 627,088 



To Chicago, St. Louis, etc. 418,173 574,558 



The average price received was $1.75 per 

 crate. 



CUBAN SPONGES 



The sponge industry in the Cuban waters 

 dwarfs that of the Florida waters, although 

 many Americans are not aware of it. The 

 headquarters of the sponge industry and its 

 biggest receiving and shipping market is 

 Batabano, Havana Province. It is claimed 

 that Batabano is the largest sponge center 

 in the world and that its shipments are very 

 large. Batabano draws from all the West 

 Indies, including Jamaica, whose sponges 

 are superior to those gathered in Florida and 

 Cuba waters. 



The official figures, showing the value of 

 Cuba's sponge exports, compare as follows: 

 1911-12. . . .$300,273 1912-13. . . .$295,534 



The United States and France are the 

 largest buyers. 



NIPE BAY'S CUSTOMS COLLECTIONS 



As showing the growth of a great north 

 coast port, the custom house collections at 

 Nipe Bay make a most favorable showing. 

 Figures for the two last fiscal j'ears compare 

 as follows: 



1912-13 1913-14 



July .$26,217 .$39,901 



August 31,544 35,310 



September 33,829 108,227 



October 68,197 99,825 



November 69,903 85,983 



December 35,037 108,581 



Januarv 38,588 52,053 



February 37,624 38,071 



:\Iarch 46,778 43,749 



April 52,396 33,968 



May 33,339 32,434 



June 39,584 56,547 



Totals $513,041 .$734,655 



Average per month $42,753 .$61,221 



PURCHASES OF RUBBER GOODS 



Cuban imports of rubber goods for 1912 

 included waterproof cloths, $277,500, of 

 which amount $150,000 were received from 

 the United States; $82,500 from the United 

 Kingdom; $12,250 from Italy, and $10,000 

 from Spain. Rubber hose and other manu- 

 factures of rubber came from the United 

 States to the amount of $110,000. 



HAVANA'S CUSTOMS COLLECTIONS 



Havana's custom house collections, for 

 July, according to the official figures, com- 

 pare as follows: 



1914 $1,620,620 1910 $1,496,572 



1913 1,770,523 1909 1,509,947 



1912 1,609,223 1908 1,313,839 



1911 1,574,059 1907 1,534,538 



