22 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



CUBAN COMMERCIAL MATTERS 



COMMERCE OF KEY WEST PERU'S TRADE WITH CUBA 



Imports from Cuba during 1913 were as fol- The value of Peru's imports from, and the 



lows: exports to, Cuba duringthe calendar year 1913 



Dutiable $856,950 '^ ^^ ^^J^^'f ' ^f « Peruvuan libra having been 



T1„+-,. fT-oo d^ AC\'i converted to American currency on the basis 



^^'^> ^^^^ ^'^'•**^'^ of $4,866) : 



rp^tnl «Qn9 -^K-^ Imports from Cuba $159,285 



^''^''^ $902,353 Exports to Cuba $180 



Of this amount $735,826 represented leaf , 



tobacco imports. Guatemala imported iniscellaneous^articles 



Exports were $5,311,581. from Cuba during 1913 amounting to $2,097. 



CUBA'S LUMBER TRADE 



YELLOW PINE EXPORTS 



[Gulf Coast Recorrl.] 



For the week ending September 26th, early 

 fall transactions were not abundant. Pur- 

 chases are however on about a normal basis 

 for the season. Something over 2,000,000 feet 

 went to Cuba in the week. 



For the week of September 19th the outlook 

 for Cuba appeared very favoraVjle. Lumber 

 shipments of yellow pine to the island since 

 the commencement of this year has been about 

 forty per cent, under that in a like period of 

 1913, and this decline of import has allowed 

 dealers to work down their stocks. Cuba has 

 already reaped substantial benefit in advanced 

 sugar values, and looks for exceptional pros- 

 perity in the forthcoming season, with corres- 

 ponding effect upon her purchasing capacity 

 for all classes of merchandise. Actual devel- 

 opment, however, is deferred by the disorgan- 

 ization of financial affairs, and lumber buyers 

 who seldom contract heavily at this season, 

 are inclined to hold off till November or later. 



About 1,600,000 feet of lumber was cleared 

 for Cuba during the week. 



^Movement of pitch pine in the Cuban trade 

 is generally at its lowest from August to 

 October, the period being one of quiet in in- 

 dustrial and business affairs of the island, 

 while advanced cost of freight and insurance 

 in the hurricane season is a factor in turning 

 purchases to earlier or later dates. This 

 year's business for the months mentioned is 

 on about the usual level, but Cuban export 

 for the year, so far as completed, is far below 

 that of 1913. From January 1st to last week 

 62,465,366 feet of lumber was shipped from 

 Gulf ports to the island or about 42 per cent, 

 less than was recorded at the same time a 

 year ago. 



Consumption of lumber throughout the 

 island has been moderate, but the lessened 

 import has caused some diminuation of stock. 

 With sugar at war prices Cuba's buying abil- 

 ity will be much enhanced, and the corning 

 winter should see lumber moving freely into 

 her ports, though little development is looked 

 for until closing months of the year. 



Cuban .shipment for the week of October 

 3d was a little over a million feet. 



A.MAHOGANY SCARCITY COMING 



"A variety of lumber, the supply of which is 

 quite sure to be sharply curtailed as a direct 

 result of the European war is mahogany," says 

 the Lumberman'' s Review, New York.' "The 

 Liverpool and London log markets will evi- 

 dently have little to offer, and that little will 

 be absorbed by the home trade. From 

 Africa the combination of war rates for in- 

 surance and transportation will militate 

 against direct importations. If hostilities ex- 

 tend well over into next year, and the domestic 

 demand for mahogany is normal, the United 

 States will enter the winter and spring months 

 with a scarcity that will not be overcome with- 

 in a year, as supplies from Mexico, Cuba and 

 Central America cannot be materially in- 

 creased within that period." 



The Havana correspondent of the Seattle 

 (Wash.) Lumbermen, answering an inquiry 

 as to lumber selling propsects in Cul)a, writes 

 as follows under date of September 1st: 



"Cuba's lumber consumption fell away some 

 15,000,000 feet last fiscal year, and conditions 

 now are extremely dull. Such little buying as 

 is anticipated in the next few months or the 

 next year, naturally will be placed with the 

 pitch ])ine mills of the Lnited States gulf 

 ports, which mills have been strongly en- 

 trenched in Cuban trade many years. Pacific 

 Coast lumber is unknown here except by ex- 

 pert foresters who enthusiastically commend 

 it. W^ould say that the introduction of these 

 woods will be difficulty on account of long 

 established pitch pine preference, strong and 

 well organized selling forces of Gulf Coast 

 mills and the fact that these mills can reach 

 Cuba with comparatively cheap sailing vessel 

 transportation on average distance of 350 

 miles, as against 4,000 miles through the 

 canal from North Pacific ports on a route im- 

 practicable for wind-jammers." 



