^ MONTHLY.  I>^  ' 
Vol.  XVI.]  COLOMBO,  OCTOBER  ist,  1896.  [No.  4. 
PLANTING  IN  VENEZUELA  : COFFEE, 
COCOA,  &c. 
OMMEECIAL  intereats  in  Vene- 
zuela are  suffering  from  the  by 
no  means  uncommon,  but  none 
the  less  unpleasant,  experience 
of  reaction  after  a period  of 
undue  inflation,  this  latter  resul- 
ting from  large  amounts  of 
foreign  capital  being  drawn 
into  the  country  for  the  construction  of  railways 
and  other  public  works. 
Commerical  business  is,  however,  on  a fairly  sound 
footing  in  Venezuela.  Merchants  who  give  long  credits 
seldom  do  so  without  some  solid  security  for  the 
debt.  As  a rule  when  owners  of  coffee  or  cocoa 
plantations  obtain  advances  it  is  on  the  condition  of 
the  crop  being  consigned  to  the  merchant  who  makes 
the  loan,  and  the  principal  with  interest  at  the  rate 
of  12  per  cent,  per  annum,  is  deducted  from  the 
proceeds.  Then,  again,  the  currency  is  on  a sound 
basis,  gold  coin  being  the  standard  of  the  country 
though  the  bolivar,  equal  to  a franc,  is  the  monetary 
unit.  Moreover,  the  two  principal  banks,  the  Bank 
of  Venezuela  and  the  Bank  of  Caracas,  are  managed 
on  sound  business  lines,  and  are  in  a perfectly  sol- 
vent condition.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  why 
under  such  conditions  money  is  so  dear.  The  rates 
vary  from  12  per  cent,  to  15  per  cent  annually,  even 
when  secured  on  easily  realizable  real  estate  or  other 
tangible  assets.  The  very  high  rate  of  interest  un- 
doubtedly checks  the  development  and  progress  of 
the  country,  and  the  only  plausible  explanation  for 
it  is  the  constant  fear  of  revolution  and  the  want  of 
confidence  in  the  ability  of  any  administration  to 
conduct  satisfactorily  the  internal  affairs  of  the 
country.  There  is  a lack  of  moral  responsibility 
towards  Venezuela  amongst  the  Venezuelans  that 
breeds  an  ever-present  feeling  of  distrust  and  uncertainty 
amongst  business  men,  and  many  years  of  peace  and 
prosperity  must  successively  occur  before  this  feeling 
is  eradicated,  or  even  mitigated  to  any  marked 
extent 
As  regards  the  trade  of  Venezuela  with  the  out, 
side  world,  the  value  of  English  goods  imported  is 
greater  than  that  from  any  other  country.  Next 
comes  that  of  the  United  States,  then  Germany, 
France,  and  Spain  in  the  order  named,  England 
supplies  cottons,  wollens,  and  general  merchandise  ; 
the  United  States  breadstuffs,  oils,  and  provisions ; 
Germany  cutlery  and  general  merchandise ; Prance 
silks  and  fancy  goods ; Spain  and  Cuba  wines  and 
tobacco.  As  traders  throughout  Venezuela  the  Germans 
are  certainly  first  in  importance  and  numbers,  and 
German  merchants  are  found  in  every  section  of  the 
country.  Next  in  order  come  the  Venezuelans  in 
every  class  of  business,  then  the  French,  and,  lastly, 
the  Spaniards  and  Italians.  As  merchants  or  traders 
the  English  and  Americans  are  hardly  existent;  a 
few  of  either  nationality  may  be  established  here 
and  there,  but  the  number  is  so  small,  and  their 
influence  so  slight,  as  to  call  for  no  special  com- 
ment. 
The  value  of  the  produce  exported  shows  the  balance 
of  trade  to  be  slightly  in  favour  of  Venezuela.  Coffee 
forms  the  principal  item,  the  total  shipped  being  some 
51,000  tons  during  1894  ; of  this,  however,  about  5,000 
tons,  though  despatched  as  Venezuelan,  came  from 
Colombia  and  must  be  deducted.  The  following  is 
an  approximate  list  of  the  exports  and  the  values 
at  the  port  of  shipment: — 
Coffee 
Cocoa 
Hi  ’cs 
Gold 
Other  products 
46.000  tons.  £3,680,000 
7,000  „ 60,000 
170.000  „ 90,000 
50,000oz.  180,000 
— 100,000 
Total  £4,110,000 
I do  not  vouch  for  these  figures  being  absolutely 
accurate,  statistics  being  difiScult  to  obtain  in  Venezuela 
but  they  are  as  nearly  exact  as  careful  inquiries  can 
make  them.  Thanks  to  the  initiative  of  Sir  Vincent 
Barrington,  a Chamber  of  Commerce  has  now  beeen 
established  in  Caracas  and  at  other  places.  A special 
point  aimed  at  is  to  compile  accurate  statistical  returns, 
and  in  a year  or  so  such  information  will  be  available 
for  public  use. 
The  principal  industries  of  Venezuela  are  the 
cultivation  of  coffee  and  cocoa,  cattle-raising,  the 
growth  of  sugar-cane  and  its  manufacture  into  sugar 
