TABLE K-Apparent Consumption of Fats and Oils in the United States By Major Types of Use, 1936 Total foreign & dom. prod. 67.1 17.5 8.4 7.0 100.0 1 Includes vegetable tallow, kapok, mustard and citicia oils. BASIS: Report of March, 1937, Bureau of Agriculture Economics, U. S. Dept. of Agri culture. PHILIPPINE DESICCATED COCONUT INDUSTRY BRIEF OF THE COOPERATIVE COCONUT PRODUCTS, INC. (Photographic Reprint) (See also Brief of the Franklin Baker Company et al) THE JOINT PREPARATORY COMMITTEE ON SIRS: Being one of the manufacturers and exporters of desiccated coconut to the United States, we beg hereby to present our views in connection with the hearings now being conducted by the Joint Preparatory Committee on Philippine Affairs. We believe that our views are also shared by the other producers of Philippine desiccated coconut. The existence and growth of the Philippine Desiccated Coconut Industry was made possible by the protection of the United States Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act of 1922, levying a duty of $0.031⁄2 per pound on desiccated coconut produced by other countries and exported to the United States. Prior to 1922 when the duty on desiccated coconut in the United States was only $0.02 per pound, this industry was non-existent in the Philippines. The protection given was not enough to offset the low cost of manufacture and the lower monetary exchange value of the currency of Ceylon, a competitor of real importance. Consequently, the manufacture of desiccated coconut at that time was not worthwhile. Our company is the only Filipino capitalized and managed concern actively engaged in the manufacture and export of desiccated coconut to the United States at present. It was organized in August, 1934, but we did not start actual operation until November 25, 1935. For over a year that it has been in operation, our company has exported an appreciable quantity of desiccated coconut. From November 25, 1935 to June 30, 1937 our export was as follows: It will be noted from the foregoing that ninety-nine per cent of our export went to the United States and that the export to other countries was negligible. The existence of this company or of any other company engaged in similar pursuit in the Philippines is absolutely dependent upon the American market. An abrupt change in the present trade concessions to the Philippine desiccated by the United States Government will strangulate this industry, and the imposition of the full tariff duty will wipe off same. Export of this product to China, Japan, Hongkong, Denmark or any other European country at this time is not profitable. This statement is supported by the extracts from letters received from our correspondents in said countries attached hereto as Exhibits "A," "B," "C-1," "C-2" and "D." Export of Philippine desiccated coconut to England is impossible as desiccated coconut from Ceylon is admitted there free of duty while Philippine desiccated coconut has to pay a duty of 10% ad valorem. Philippine desiccated cannot compete with Ceylon on a world price on an even basis, even if it did not have to pay duty. France at present levies a duty of 567 francs or about P43.94 per 100 kilos of sugared, edible desiccated and 288 francs or about P22.32 on other edible desiccated. This duty is more than 102% of the market value when the same quantity of desiccated is marketed in the United States. If we add to this duty the freight, insurance, manufacturing cost and manufacturers' profit, the price of desiccated coconut when sold in France will be beyond the consumer's purchasing power. This is also the case in Germany where a duty of 4 marks for every 100 kilos is at present levied. There is at |