2 i THE CUBA RE VIE W 



Comparative Statement of Declared Exports to United States for 1920 an-d 1921 — Continued 



1920 1921 

 Articles Quantities Values Quantities Values 



Textiles: 



Dress materials, piece 173 $3,907 $32,680 



Jute, pounds 250,000 20,000 



Sisal, pounds 74,249 15,153 '^22 660 



Panama hats, number 15,463 9,750 



Straw hats, dozens 889 8,701 



Wood and paper: 



Hardwood, M square feet 78 8,757 20,923 9,427 



Cedar, sawn, square feet 154,993 23,288 186,890 5,916 



Cedar, rough, square feet 402,607 74,151 1,100,381 124,164 



Shooks, number 68,972 6,430 



Lignum vitse, tons 280 19,829 128 8,429 



Furniture, pounds 7,068 16,469 



Labels, pounds 23,900 36,718 



Mahogany, sawn, square feet 256,763 43,051 212,415 20,742 



Nonmetallic minerals: 



Pyrites, tons 26,300 324,150 17,300 207,600 



Asphalt, pounds 1,754,392 9,168 741,400 7,096 



Ores, metals and manufactures: 



Copper ore, tons 31,257 2,251,044 40,298 2,085,884 



Iron ore, tons 900,787 3,585,362 98,780 427,563 



Manganese, tons 8,370 234,059 15,405 61,623 



Electrical machinery, value 24,776 



Chemicals: 



Guano, pounds 34,126 14,766 



All other declared exports, value 914,235 252,554 



Total 650,698,909 220,798,418 



Raw sugar was, of course, the principal export to the United States, as is shown in 

 the above table. Tobacco in all forms came next, and molasses is the third item of 

 export in importance. Of minerals, iron ore and copper are the principal exports. The 

 shipments of hides are also an important item in value. The export of fruits is increas- 

 ing in importance, especially of pineapples. Bananas and grapefruit, principally from the 

 Isle of Pines, are also shipped to the United States in important quantities. 



Cuban Market for American Merchandise 



As previously noted in this report, the great majority of Cuban imports come from 

 the United States, and the trade between the two countries is well developed and organ- 

 ized. The retail business is largely in the hands of Cuban and Spanish merchants, 

 though there are a number of important American firms in the retail trade. American 

 houses and merchants are more commonly distributers and manufacturers' agents, the 

 same being true of the few mercantile firms of nationalities other than those mentioned. 

 There are, however, a considerable number of Chinese-owned "bodegas," or corner 

 grocery stores. 



There are still unabsorbed stocks of merchandise of many classes on hand, due to 

 present economic conditions, and this is one of the reasons why imports from the United 

 States fell during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1922, to about $115,000,000. It is difficult 

 to make any estimate at present of the value of the merchandise in the bonded ware- 

 houses, which has either been abandoned by the consignees or cannot be traced, but it 

 seems unquestionable that such merchandise is worth, taking the most conservative 

 estimate, at least $10,000,000 and probably much more. 



The buying capacity of the public is greatly reduced, and few of the retail 

 merchants are yet in a position to purchase stocks of new goods, owing to their large 

 debts for goods bought during the prosperous period and because of the many accounts 

 which they have been unable to collect. There are, of course, many exceptions to these 

 conditions, but so many merchants are involved that the market is seriously affected. 



