The rice industry
Media
Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal
- Title
- The rice industry
- Creator
- Hill, Percy A.
- Language
- English
- Source
- The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XVI (No. 1) January 1936
- Year
- 1936
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- 44 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL January, 1936 THE RICE INDUSTRY By PERCY A. HILL of Mufioz, Nueva Ecija Director, Rice Producer's Atsociation stabilize prices has been approved, but we believe the sum is inadequate to hold prices down when scarcity arises—save perhaps in urban centers where the needy are more vocal. About 24 million cavans of palay pass through the hands of millers, buyers and interprovincial traders. Such a quantity is currently worth about 1*60,000,000, and it is easy to see that 1/30 of this value would have little influence on the total. There is of course no carry-over whatever this year. Preliminary threshing reports are 18% in some districts, as high as 52% in others, below last year’s—a year of partial crop-failure also. Exports have ceased because of the 1cent processing tax in the United States. This attempt to export rice to the United States was pointed out in this column as unwise as long as a year ago, our rice being needed at home. As urged heretofore, recurring decrease of our rice crop is a matter demanding immediate action dealing with the plant disease that has attacked the crop over wide areas. Main causes of rice-crop decline, by regions: Northern Luzon—disease, drouth, typhoons; West Central Luzon—floods, disease, typhoons; East Cenral Luzon—disease, typhoons, drouth; Southern Luzon—disease, locusts, drouth; and the Hisayas—typhoons, disease, locusts. CHARTERED BANK OF ,NATD’ cV.nVALI A , Capital and Reserve Fund.............. Reserve Liability of Proprietors.. . . £6,000,000 . 3,000,000 Rice and palay prices both have fallen since last month’s report be cause of timely ar rivals of now-crop supplies. During January’s first week luxury rice brought 1’6.10 to 1*6.30 per sack of 57 kilos and macans 1*5.75 to 1*5.95, prices tend ing firmer. Palay at buying points brought 1’2.45 to 1’2.60 per cavan of 44 kilos according to grade. Importations have practically ceased. Pres ident Quezon ordered excessive importations investigated, to place responsibility for them, and fines and the full duty were assessed against them. This is commendable, prompt action to .clear up the question. However, too strict an interpretation of the imports required during the emergency might discourage importers and men who finance them and throw the entire operation on the government. The setting aside of 1*2,000,000 for the purchase of palay to MANILA BRANCH established 1872 SUB-BRANCHES AT CEBU, ILOILO AND ZAMBOANGA Every description of banking business transacted. Branches in every important town throughout India, China, Japan, Java, Straits Settlements, Federated Malay States, French Indo-China, Siam, and Borneo; also in New York. Head Office: 38 Bishopsgate, London, E. C. A. J. McIntosh, Acting Manager, Manila. IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL January, 1936 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 45 It seems certain that plant disease unwittingly introduced lierc will keep the crop permanently low and that yearly imports will be of some mag nitude—money going abroad that is badly needed at home. Whether public agencies with men and funds at their disposal can do any thing about this is a question for the President; otherwise the perennial food scarcity will be added to the other problems awaiting solution. Expansion of rice areas to submarginal lands will not answer; neither will appeals to patriotism, the growers’ chief preoccupation being to exist. Nor have the farm colonies produced anything to date to add to national subsistence, being too paternalistic to succeed. Experts from Indoasia where like conditions are faced might be called upon as a last resort, to try to eradicate the disease, that has not only affected wide areas but is still spreading. National food supply comes before national security, scarcity of food supply nullifies nationalism. Roy H. Howard (Continued from page la) your honor. But above honor is justice. You cannot, being just, compel us to accept an in dependence that will be one in name only, or that being real for a day, vanishes like smoke on the morrow. You have indulged us in our ideal ism, and for that we are grateful The ideal of independence has held us toget her as a nation all these years. Without that ideal we could not have achieved union and nationalism. But we have learned our lesson, and we come to you, sincere and proud as before, but much wiser. Let us pick up the loose ends of our motives and interests and see whether we cannot piece them together straight and whole.” And Congress, no longer under the orders of selfish constituents because of a complete re covery from the depression, will be disposed to listen, and will say: ‘•Well, Juan, what is it we can do for you this time? Perhaps we can see eye to eye much better now that the clouds of the terrible depression have vanished. Lay your propositions on the table and let us consider them together like old friends. Maybe we can find a way out.” And they will find a way out if the time should come when the one will be as honest as the other is just. Machines and Men Believing he was hitting upon some funda mentals “that have thrown us into this new era, this new day, this new age,”, in extension-ofremarks in the Congressional Record of August 20 Congressman Walter M. Pierce included 3 striking illustrations of how machines are liberating men from labor, incidentally, though possibly temporarily, provoking unemployment problems in the United States. He mentioned a new machine at Ford's which bores an 8cylinder shaft, polishes and finishes it in 5 minutes; it formerly employed 1 man 1 day to turn out 1 cylinder, so the new machine relieves scores of men from this work. He mentioned a new plant of the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Company that employing 90 men turns out the quota of sheet steel that formerly employed 800 men, thus relieving 710 men from this type of work. Then he mentioned his own ranch, where his son with 12 men harvests as much grain as he himself formerly did with the work of 40 men; on that ranch alone, during the har vest season. 28 men formerly employed are relieved of that, type of work by some improved harvesting machine. His notations are interesting for the scope they embrace. He of course argued not against machines, but in contravention of a good deal of opinion that holds America is merely tem porarily bogged in hard times out of which the usual course of events will lead her to renewed prosperity and universal employment of labor. Congressman Pierce believes that technolog ical unemployment is not a mere symptom of the times; he thinks it is a permanent factor in modern life in industrial countries. REAL ESTATE By P. D. CARMAN Addition Hills 1935 Real Estate sales in the City of Manila exceeded those of 1934 by approximately three million pesos! The fol lowing yearly totals for the past ten years in dicate that the local real estate market did not greatly feel the effects of the Depression until 1932. It will also be noted that since that year there has been steady improvement and that 1935 sales exceed those of 1926 and 1927 and are not far behind undoubtedly rising steadily with the general improvement in economic conditions: 1926.. . 1’12,710,666 1931 . . 1’18,523,382 1927.. . 11,995,124 1932 9,857,937 1928.. . 16,884,814 1933 11,755,282 1929.. . 18,110,918 1934. 12,466,897 1930... 16,922,288 1935 . 15,403,079 in/cs City .of Manila .Vorrrnfcrr Drrr-imber Total for those of 1928, all pre-depression years. This situation indicates material growth of the City during the past decade and the probability of an active future market not only in respect to volume of business but to values which arc 1’848,104 1’961,2901’15,403,079 Sta. Cruz......... 1’257,548 1’ 92,011 P 3,069,158 Sampaloc........ 359,090 156,199 1,640,718 Tondo.............. 31,905 445,739 1,535,826 Binondo.......... 10,500 15,500 921,083 San Nicolas. . . 19,755 — 1,966,612 Ermita............. 21,700 18,321 611,800 Malate............. 45,820 169,653 1,460,963 Paco................. 18,909 15,895 444,281 Sta. Ana......... 7,826 26,789 321,430 Quiapo............. 15,721 16,560 2,813,733 San Miguel. . . 3,600 4,623 123,089 Intramuros.. . . 22,330 — 400,008 Pandacan........ 3,400 — 39,721 Sta. Mesa....... 30,000 — 54,157 San Felipe Neri — — 500 THE YOKOHAMA SPECIE BANK ----— LTD _ (ESTABLISHED 1880) HEAD OFFICE: YOKOHAMA, JAPAN Yen Capital (Paid Up) - 100,000,000.00 Reserve Funds . . . . 127,450,000.00 Undivided Profits .... 9,503,102.20 MANILA BRANCH 34 PLAZA CERVANTES. MANILA S. DAZA! Manager Telephone 2-37-59—Manager Telephone 2-37-55—Account & Cashier Telephone 2-37-58—Export i. Import Depl. Telephone 2-37-68—Deposit & Remittance Dept. D R Y s E A L S Superior Qualify Dependable Service RING UP 2-18-01 the next time you need a Rubber Stamp or Dry Seal and our Salesman will call l\/rc^TTT T Lt-L O> 07 07 kjr JL -f. Sales Office: 2nd Floor IOI Escolfa R u B B E R s T A M P S IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF OOMMERCE JOURNAL