16 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



J 



Market for Hollow-Ware 



The following report deals with the mar- 

 ket for hollow-ware in Cuba and has been 

 prepared by H. M. Consul-General at Ha- 

 vana, Mr. G. D. N. Haggard. 



Principal Goods in Demand 

 Hollow-ware is not shown separately in 

 the Cuban returns, and it is, therefore, 

 not possible to indicate the extent of the 

 trade in figures. There is, however, a good 

 demand for enamel-ware, which enjoys a 

 ready sale, and stocks of a fairly wide 

 range of utensils are maintained by the 

 stores. At the moment, Mr. Haggard 

 states, the demand is steady, and the mar- 

 ket prospects are regarded as good. The 

 industrial situation in Cuba is improving. 

 There is no reason to suppose that the 

 consumption of enamelware will decrease, 

 but rather that to some extent more busi- 

 ness will be done in this class of goods. 

 The present sources of supply are reported 

 to be as follows: United States, 75 per 

 cent.; France, 20 per cent.; Germany, 5 

 per cent. 



Practically all ware for household and 

 culinary purposes is in demand, including 

 kettles, hot water jugs, basins, water jugs 

 (seamless), wash basins, soap dishes, milk 

 jugs, plates (dinner and soup), spoons, la- 

 dles, funnels, stewpans, spittoons, pails 

 (seamless), bowls, trays, coffee pots, chaf- 

 ing dishes, sugar basins, canisters for tea 

 and coffee, flour and other household sup- 

 plies. 



White and blue is the general finish de- 

 manded, but colors vary as follows: 



(1) White inside, blue and white marble 

 effect outside; (2) turquoise blue outside, 

 pure white inside; (3) all white handles 

 blue; (4) sky blue outside, white inside, 

 or sky blue also; (5) lead gray, this color 

 is cheapest and most in demand; (6) dark 

 blue outside, pure white inside; (7) brown 

 outside, pure white inside, the brown being 

 of a chestnut shade; (8) all white with 

 blue rim; (9) brown and red, shot or run 

 together — this is of French make and is 

 very popular. Degrees of enameling vary 

 from one to three coatings. 



The following are a few varieties of for- 

 eign goods which command a very ready 

 sale: Coffee pots, seamless, 1.42 litres, 

 (a) tin cover $8.00, (b) enameled cover 

 $9.00; bakery basins, large size handles. 



10.41 Htres, 39.7 by 14.6 cms., (a) tii 

 cover $20.00, (b) enamel cover $23.00 

 oval waiters, 40.5 by 30.5 cms., $10.00 

 milk jugs, tin lid, wooden grip handle, 1.8<. 

 litres, $7.50; plates — soup, diameter I'i 

 cms., $2.00, do. dinner, 22 cms., $2.00 

 stew pans, side handles, tin covers, 26 b) 

 17 cms., $16.50; pudding basins— flat, 22.{ 

 by 5.4 cms., $4.00; pudding basins — deep 

 23.5 by 7.6 cms., $4.50; spittoons, diamete; 

 top 18 cms., depth, 10 cms., $5.50; pails 

 seamless, with foot, cap. 11.3 litres, 29.^ 

 by 23.2 cms., without covers $22.00, witl 

 cover $27.00; stewpans, side handles, diam^ 

 eter 22 cms., depth 13 cms., tin covei 

 $11.00; stewpans, side handles, diametei 

 22 cms., depth 13 cms., without cove; 

 $9.00, enamel cover $12.50. The pricei 

 quoted are understood to be for good; 

 delivered f. o. b. New York and are subjec 

 to discounts varying from 50 per cent t( 

 60 per cent and 10 per cent, according t( 

 colorings, quality, etc., the utmost dis 

 counts, viz., 60 per cent and 10 per cent 

 allowed being for the lead gray color. 



Owing to the proximity of the Unitec 

 States to Cuba, ajtid especially to thf 

 Key West ferry service which makes i 

 possible to ship rail-cars from New Yorl 

 to Havana without unloading, an importan 

 advantage is held by American firms. 



Duties 



Hollow-ware is not specially mentionec 

 in the Cuban Customs Tariff, but it is prob 

 able that enameled goods would be assessec 

 under the following heading: Articles o: 

 wrought iron or steel fine, i. e., polishec 

 enameled, coated with porcelain, nickel o; 

 other metals (except lead, tin or zinc) oi 

 with ornaments, borders or parts of othei 

 metals or combined with glass or earthen- 

 ware $5.20 per 100 kilos. The rate in th( 

 case of United States goods is $3.90 per 10( 

 kilos. In connection with the duties th( 

 Consul-General points out that it is essen- 

 tial in the case of a mixed consignmeni 

 to show clearly on invoices the differem 

 finishes, i. e., whether enameled, tinned 

 galvanized, etc. It is understood that im- 

 porters usually expect to receive 30 to 9( 

 days' credit. 



It is thought that the best way to intro- 

 duce goods into the market would he t( 

 appoint a resident agent who has a suitabh 

 connection among importers. In Cub£ 



