X. A. 6 Gana: Leather Industry of the Philippines 351 



In recent years a number of boot and shoe factories have 

 begun to operate in Manila and they are still expanding. As 

 they consume imported sole and upper leather exclusively, the 

 demand for satisfactory grades of these goods is likely to 

 increase very markedly. It is to these classes of leather that 

 the prospective tanner in the Philippines should devote his first 

 and main attention. 



In addition to the industry just mentioned, which uses im- 

 ported leather and which is conducted by Europeans and Amer- 

 icans, there is an even larger leather-working business among 

 the Filipinos and Chinese. It is carried on in small shops or 

 as a household industry. Its products include cheap shoes, san- 

 dals, harness, saddles, bags, etc., made almost exclusively of 

 leather tanned in the Islands. The improvement of domestic 

 leather would, of course, be of great advantage to these in- 

 dustries. 



The present prices of staple leathers on the local market are 

 approximately as follows: 



Table IV.— Prices of staple leathers on the Manila market. 



Article. 



Domestic, tanned, native cattle hides 



Domestic, tanned, Australian cattle hides . 

 Imported sole leather 



Per piece. 



Pesos. 

 13-20 

 16-24 

 a 40-50 



Per 

 kilogram. 



Pesos. 

 ■» 1.40-1.80 

 a 1.60-1.90 

 2.00 



" Calculated from actual market prices and the average weight of hides. 



Quality considered, native leather commands a much better 

 price per kilogram than imported. This arises from the Fili- 

 pino custom of buying leather by area rather than weight. The 

 loss to the Filipino tanner in producing undertanned leather 

 is very apparent in the prices per piece. There is no exportation 

 of leather or leather goods from the Philippines. 



RAW HIDE SUPPLY 



In spite of the inroads which rinderpest has made upon the 

 cattle-raising industry of the Philippines and of the strict 

 limitations placed in recent years on the importation of animals 

 from abroad, with the consequent shortage on the local market, 

 very many hides and skins go to waste each year. 



There has been difficulty in getting reliable information about 

 the supply of hides and skins from domestically slaughtered 

 animals, but from figures of the Bureau of Agriculture it ap- 

 pears that 11,133 sheep, 69,851 goats, 1,019 horses, 36,935 



