THE CUBA REVIEW 15 



ely on support from outside the island. They also have been in many cases forced to 

 ccept heavy losses, due to the depreciation of the securities on which loans have been 

 aade. The return of truly prosperous conditions for the banking interests obviously 

 lepends upon the return of prosperity to the island as a whole. 



Settlement of Outstanding Accounts 



The settlement of outstanding accounts will for many months be one of the sore 

 Ipots in Cuban commercial circles. Their large amount is due to such a complication 

 |if circumstances that even in an individual case it is often difficult to determine where 

 he responsibihty lies. Overpurchasing, late shipment, the congestion of the port, the 

 lanking collapse, and the inability of Habana houses to collect from their provincial 

 ,reditors have contributed to make settlements difficult. In addition, many "war- 

 ()Oom" firms have shown in some cases inability and in other cases unwillingness to meet 

 heir obligations. 



Adjustments are gradually being made. Payments will in some cases run over 

 . period of two years or even more. In other cases manufacturers have been obliged 

 io offer heavy discounts to secure payment in cash. How far adjustment has occurred in 

 ■arious lines it is impossible to state. About 35 per cent of all the outstanding textile 

 iccounts are reported to have been subject to arrangement. Heavy obligations are still 

 lound on the part of dealers in shoes, hardware, and some lines of machinery. The 

 Duilding-materials market is on the mend. Foodstuffs on the whole appear to be in a 

 )etter condition than most other important lines. The return of normal conditions for 

 rade as a whole appears to still be many months away. 



The Bonded Warehouse Situation 



One of the elements which has greatly contributed to the slowness of the revival 

 )f trade in Cuba has been the problems arising from the goods in the bonded warehouses, 

 A'hich were created to relieve the congestion of the port in 1920. Part of the stocks 

 hen brought into the country have remained inactive through the fact that the location 

 [)f the goods, due to the confusion of the congested period, was not known, while part 

 )f the goods have been left in the warehouses through unwillingness of consignees to 

 iccept delivery. Sometimes the refusal to take the goods has been due to misunder- 

 :>tanding between the shipper and the consignee. With the partial recovery of trade, 

 5ome of this overhanging stock has been taken into the market, but a very large quantity 

 [remains to be disposed of. 



I Through arrangement with the Government, an inventory of the latter is now being 

 Tiade with the co-operation of the Board of Underwriters of New York. Upon the 

 completion of this inventory, those who are interested will be notified of the position of 

 :he goods — thus, it is hoped, facilitating the bringing of the goods on the market or 

 ■-heir re-exportation in case they can not be disposed of to good advantage in Cuba. At 

 oresent goods (except those declared for consumption) can be re-exported up to June 30, 

 1922, if previously declared in "deposito mercantil." It is hoped that the stocks will 

 have been in great part removed from the warehouses by that date so that the amount 

 of goods which will finally be thrown on the local market through forced sales to recover 

 customs duties will have been reduced to a minimum. It is expected that the American 

 houses which are still interested in the goods now lying in bonded warehouses will give 

 their prompt cooperation to this end. 



Import and Export Trade in 1921 



The import and export trade of Cuba during 1921 suffered a sharp decline. The 

 values were $356,435,099 and $278,130,740, respectively, making a total of $634,565,839. 

 Compared with the 1920 total of $1,351,025,480, the foreign trade of Cuba suffered a 

 decline of over 50 per cent in value. 



