available to the domestic market, it would be consumed and would yield considerably increased return to growers. For the crop year 1941-42 and 1942-43 the proportion to be exported was fixed at 17% percent.

In order to maintain the control over prices and movements of coffee, the Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture were charged with issuing permits for the movement to market of all coffee. Transportation of hulled and unhulled coffee from one Province to another and between producing districts was prohibited except under license.

These Government measures have been successful in increasing production, reducing imports, and increasing returns to growers, but they have resulted in high prices to Cuban consumers, who normally take more than three-fourths of the production. They have necessitated the disposition of the remainder of the crop by export at decidedly unprofitable prices. Under the Inter-American Coffee Agreement of 1940, Cuba was allocated a quota for export of 80,000 bags to the United States and 62,000 bags to other markets for the quota year beginning October 1940. This is equivalent to total exports of about 18.6 million pounds and is far in excess of the 10 percent now required to be exported under Cuban legislation.

It would appear that Cuba can, under governmental protection, readily supply domestic coffee requirements but is not in a position to compete effectively in the export market. Except for the fact that exports provide additional foreign exchange and constitute an outlet for surplus production, it is felt that the best interests of Cuban coffee growers would be served by stabilizing production at a level equal to domestic consumption and at the same time taking steps to improve quality.

САСАО

Cacao, from which cocoa and chocolate are made, is similar to coffee in some respects: namely, in that it is grown on small trees in the mountainous areas and that it requires considerable preparation on the farm after harvesting. It is now of relatively minor importance in Cuba. Its cultivation virtually ceased after the World War because of the great increase in sugar production and the increased production of cacao in other countries. It was partly revived in 1925 but has never regained its former position. Production since 1925 has never exceeded 10 million pounds a year, and in 1939-40 amounted to only 0.8 million pounds (table 42). One of the principal difficulties of cacao cultivation is that trees require from 4 to 7 years to begin bearing, whereas the Cuban farmer is usually financed on the basis of his crop and would therefore much rather produce a crop giving quick

returns.

TABLE 42.-Cacao acreage, production, and number of producing farms in Cuba 1928-29 to 1939-401

1 Actual production is believed to be considerably larger than reported by these data. Coffee and Cacao Office of Cuban Ministry of Agriculture.

Cacao is grown in Cuba in the hilly or mountainous sections of Oriente Province in the extreme eastern end of the island (fig. 29). It requires well-drained, sandy clay soils with humus and abundant rainfall. The crop is chiefly grown by small farmers, a few being independent owners but the majority being renters operating on a share-crop basis. Average acreage in cacao per grower was about 15 acres according to the census in 1936–37.

Cacao is endemic to tropical America. Three varieties are grown today: Calabacillo, a small-bean variety having a purple tinge and a very bitter taste; Forastero, a large, heavy dark bean, also having a bitter taste; and Criollo, the most valuable variety, with a lighter color, larger size, and sweeter taste, as well as a higher fat content than the other two varieties.

Seeds are planted in nurseries in November, and the seedlings are set out in April or May at the beginning of the rainy season. Banana plants are frequently used as shade. The flowers are small_and yellowish and develop into fleshy yellow pods containing the seeds, or beans. These pods, however, are not permitted to develop until the tree is 3 or 4 years old. Some trees have been known to bear for 100 years. Trees are attacked by numerous parasites, but the witches'broom disease, serious in some countries, has not yet attacked trees in Cuba.

The principal crop is harvested twice yearly, the first or fall harvest taking place during October and November and the spring harvest during April and May. Actual picking is done by the planter and his family on the small farms and by hired labor on the large plantations. After the picking, the pods containing the cacao beans are broken and the beans are removed and subjected to a sweating process and then dried in the sun. The dried beans are packed in burlap sacks, containing about 132 pounds, and are then ready for shipment to the market.

Most of the crop is marketed through local merchants, although some larger growers in the Santiago region truck their crops to Habana over the central highway. The chief market is Habana, which takes from 90 to 95 percent of the crop. Cacao is classified by quality into two grades; the better grade, called Hacienda, is known in the United States market as Fine Estates Fermented; the lower grade is called Corriente. Prices in 1932 were at the disastrously low level of 2 to 3 cents a pound but during recent years have increased, although not to the pre-World War levels of 9 to 11 cents a pound.

About 90 percent of production is consumed by local manufacturers and confectioners in Habana. Only surplus production is exported, varying from 2.4 million pounds, valued at $351,000 in 1927, to practically none in some years. Exports amounted to 0.1 million pounds valued at $28,000 in 1940 (table 43). Most of the exports are to the United States, where cacao enters duty-free; but on account of the small and uncertain quantities, manufacturers in the United States prefer more stable supplies than the Cuban cacao for blending.

The production of cacao tends to be dependent on the sugar situation. When sugar prices were exceptionally good, cacao production dropped, and when sugar prices were low, cacao production increased. Prior to the war of 1914-18, Cuban cacao production was large, reaching 10 to 15 million pounds in some years. In 1919, when sugar

prices rose sharply, many cacao plantations were destroyed to make way for sugar; but in 1925 low sugar prices caused many farmers to harvest cacao again. The crop of 1926-27 amounted to almost 10 • million pounds.

TABLE 43.-Cacao exports and imports, Cuba, 1926-40

Cuba's principal fiber crop is henequen. Although numerous other fiber plants grow in Cuba, their commercial production has not been profitable because of the low quality of the fiber obtainable or their unprofitable yields due to unsatisfactory climatic conditions or, most important of all, the high cost of removing the fiber. In most cases suitable decorticating machinery has not been developed, and under Cuba's relatively high wage scale the costs of hand decortication are too great compared with those in many other countries.

Cotton was grown in Cuba many years ago. During the United States Civil War production in Cuba expanded, but recently only a few farms have grown cotton. The total production of short-staple cotton now is estimated at about 150 bales, handled through one gin at San Antonio de los Baños. Results have not been very profitable, and production is not increasing. A little long-staple cotton, 20 to 30 bales, was grown on the Isle of Pines from 1938 to 1940, largely on an experimental basis. Because of unsatisfactory growing conditions, an uncertain market, and damage from the pink bollworm and the stain bug, it has been practically discontinued. A considerable cotton-textile industry has been developed in Cuba during the past 10 years: in 1939-40 it used about 14,000 bales of imported cotton, almost entirely from the United States.

Cuba's sugar industry and, to a lesser extent, the tobacco and coffee industries require vast quantities of heavy cloth bags and covering for bales. Most of these are imported jute or burlap bags, some are bags manufactured in Cuba from imported burlap, and some are cotton bags for refined sugar. Cuba's imports of jute bags and bagging during recent years have amounted to 45 to 50 million pounds, costing from 2 to 3 million dollars annually, in addition to imports of

These

other kinds of bagging costing about 1 million dollars more. imports alone cost Cuba about three times as much as the value of Cuba's exports of henequen fiber and products.

HENEQUEN

Henequen production in Cuba was small, estimated at less than 1 million pounds annually, until just before the first World War when it had increased to about 5 million pounds. Since then it expanded to an industry with exports valued at from 1 to 1.6 million dollars

FIGURE 31.-A henequen field after semiannual harvest.

annually. The fiber is used primarily in the manufacture of binder twine, wrapping twines, and small rope.

Henequen requires about 4 years after planting before the first crop is ready for harvest-then it is harvested once or twice a year for 10 to 15 years. It is planted 4 to 5 feet apart in rows 8 to 10 feet apart, or about 1,000 plants per acre. The plants consist of a short central trunk bearing numerous heavy, long, narrow spikelike leaves, which have spines along the edge and tip and when mature are from 3 to 4 feet long. Young leaves grow from the top of the trunk in a nearly vertical position (see fig. 31), but as they mature, the lower leaves assume a nearly horizontal position and are ready to be harvested. Harvesting consists of cutting each leaf off with a knife. The leaves are then hauled to a factory, where the green and pulpy material is removed from fibers through a decortication process. They are then washed, dried in the sun, and tied into bales of about 500 pounds, ready for market. Each plant yields about 30

leaves a year, the per-acre yield being about 1,300 to 1,800 pounds of fibers.

Henequen requires a well-drained limestone soil and dry weather for the manufacturing process. Production areas center around Matanzas, Cienfuegos, the north coast of Camagüey, and southwestern Oriente. Total production is estimated 50 at about 35 million pounds annually, most of which is produced in the Matanzas area. There are no accurate acreage data, but it is estimated that there are from 32,000 to 37,000 acres, including fields not yet in production. Most of the production is in the hands of large companies because of the cost involved in the manufacturing plants necessary to extract the fibers. commercially. Some production is carried on by sugar céntrals.

Exports of fiber and products during the 5 years 1936-40 varied from 20 to 34 million pounds annually, about two-thirds of which were in the form of raw fiber and about one-third in the form of manufactured twine, rope, and cordage (table 44). Most of the raw fiber and practically all of the manufactured products are shipped to the United States. The other principal market for raw fiber during this 5-year period was Germany. Domestic consumption of twine and rope made from henequen requires only a small part of the total crop.

Production in Cuba could be considerably expanded, but the long time required before the plants are ready for harvest, the relatively low world market price, and the required investment in manufacturing plants discourage rapid expansion of the industry and make it unattractive for small farmers. Prices as reflected by average export values were abnormally high at between 5 and 6 cents a pound in 1936 and 1937, but during the 3 years 1938-40 they averaged only 3.2 to 3.8 cents a pound.

TABLE 44.-Henequen exports from Cuba, 1936-40

50 HOOVER, JOHN P. PRODUCTION AND TRADE IN SISAL AND HENEQUEN IN CUBA. 13654. 10 pp. June 6, 1941. [Mimeographed.]

CRAWFORD, WILLIAM A. THE PRODUCTION AND USE OF FIBROUS PLANTS IN CUBA. 22904. 24 pp. Oct. 4, 1941. [Mimeographed.]

U. S. Cons. Rpt.

U. S. Cons. Rpt.