Imports
Media
Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal
- Title
- Imports
- Creator
- Kraemer, Louis S.
- Language
- English
- Source
-
The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXVI (No. 3) March 1950
- Year
- 1950
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- March, 1950 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 115 Tobacco By Luis A. Pujalte Secretary-Treasurer, Manila Tobacco Association ALTHOUGH it is still too early to be sure, all the indi cations are that the 1950 tobacco crop will be the largest since the outbreak of the war. An increase in acreage is noted throughout the tobacco regions, mainly the Valley (Isabela and Cagayan), Pangasinan, La Union, and Ilocos and in the Visayan Islands. Weather conditions have been very favorable and if this continues, a 40f f in crease over last year’s approximately 30,000,000 pound crop could easily be harvested. With the import control, most of this tobacco will be consumed locally; that is, if the exchange control does not restrict the importation of cigarette paper. This has been very difficult under the exchange control order allow ing only 6% monthly of the 1949 imports of uncon trolled items, and now, with the newly announced list of priorities, it will be almost impossible to bring ‘in cigarette paper for the ever-increasing demand for local cigarettes. The black market is not only flourishing on imported, but also on locally manufactured cigarettes. A 4000-meter bobbin of cigarette paper costs between $2.75 and $3. In the hands of bonafide manufacturers, this bobbin yields 48,000 to 50,000 cigarettes, which pay a minimum tax of P96. The Government cannot afford to lose P100 in taxes due to a “loss” of say $3 in foreign ex change. With the exchange control, it would be very easy to completely eradicate clandestine manufacture following the suggestion of the Board of Directors of the Manila Tobacco Association contained in a memorandum to the Tax Committee, Department of Finance, attention of Mr. Alfredo Jacinto, Chairman, which reads as follows: “(1) To have only duly licensed tobacco manufacturers as sole importers of cigarette paper, whether in rolls or in sheets. If the importation of cigarette paper be placed exclusively in the hands of authorized tobacco manufacturers, the rampant smuggling of this commodity and illegal disposal thereof will be minimized if not alto gether stopped. It will also avoid the channeling of this commodity into the hands of unscrupulous importers who are not engaged in the manufacture and sale of tobacco products. It cannot be doubted that the authorized manufacturers are in a better position to dispose of this commodity and will have more caution against eventual transfer to the hands of illicit manufacturers.” If this were done it would be very easy for the Bureau of Internal Revenue to keep a close supervision and watch over the output of each factory and thus be assured that all due taxes are collected. Imports By Louis S. Kraemer Vice-President, Mercantile, Inc. FEBRUARY 18 marked the day when the Import Control Office finally started to issue import alloca tions covering the first quarter of 1950. Until this date, it was impossible for importers to place their orders for any items subject to import control. Even to the date of this writing, the wheels of the Import Control Office are turning very slowly and the import business is still vir tually paralyzed on all controlled items. According to an authoritative source, the Import Control Office will, within a few days, begin to keep its records on modern accounting machines and it is hoped that the present delays will then be greatly minimized. INSULAR LUMBER COMPANY FABRICA, OCC. NEGROS ------------- *------------SPECIALISTS IN KILN DRIED LUMBER and MANUFACTURERS OF BOXES OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS MAXI LA DISTRIBUTORS: Norton & Harrison Company 814 Echague Manila D. C. Chuan & Sons, Inc. H-30 Soler St. Manila Insular Saw Mill, Inc. 310 Canonigo, Paco Manila MAXILA OFFICE. 401 PILIPINAS BL1LDING 116 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL March. 1950 Many business men are saying that the obstacles to trade created through the import control regulations are far less disturbing than the uncertainties created through the often ambiguous “memoranda” of the Exchange Control Board with regard to priorities on foreign exchange for commodities not subject to import control. One exhausted trader pointed out that at least he and his customers knew where they stood on controlled items because either they had their allocation or they didr/t, whereas under the exchange control, they could not plan from one day to the next as the rulings are constantly subject to modification and amendment. While the necessity for dollar conservation is prac tically universally accepted, it is thought that the present system has certain flaws which are costing the nation more dollars than necessary. Due to the restrictions placed on monthly allocations of exchange (6' '< of the importers’ 1949 expenditures) the importer is unable to take advantage of seasonal or economic declines in the world markets on various commodities, and furthermore is unable to place orders sufficiently large to obtain the carload-prices which, oftentimes, are far lower than the less-than-carload prices, both from the viewpoint of the producers’ established price lists and the inland freight rates. Traders and importers are not the only ones directly affected by the controls. Many firms planning on entering into local manufacturing have ordered and received machinery for their operations, and now find extreme difficulty in obtaining foreign exchange for the raw materials needed, even though these imported raw materials consti tute only a minor portion of their requirements. The opinion has been expressed that the Philippine Government waited too long before beginning the control on dollars and that today the only remedy can come from the United States granting a sufficient loan to maintain the reserve necessary to carrying the country through this period of conversion to home production for domestic and export purposes, which some believe may require two or three years even under the most capable administration. Commodities January 1950 1949 Automotive (Total)............................... 1,367,319 2,186,856 Automobiles........... .............................. 492,490 379,324 Auto Accessories................................. 18,102 25,261 ” Parts.............................................. 198,330 638,045 Bicycles................................................... 57,533 25,994 Trucks..................................................... 25,843 63,147 Truck Chassis........................................ 183,927 554,494 Building Materials (Total)................... 5,506,300 21,490,781 Board, Fibre......... .............................. 169,524 922,447 Cement................................................... 458,868 15,635,899 Fixtures, Bathroom and Kitchen.. . 443,682 286,750 Glass, Misc.............................................. 1,416,671 134,157 Plumbing, Misc..................................... 629,026 741,150 Chemicals (Total)..................................... 13,536,941 13,401,301 Caustic Soda.......................................... 2,606,879 605,757 Explosives (Total). .'............................... 32,987 231,525 Firearms, NOS (Total)........................... 12,706 22,318 Ammunition............................................ 15,175 37,513 Hardware (Total)............... .................. 7,074,415 7,580,529 Household (Total).................................... 1,655,063 2,595,186 Machinery (Total)................................... 2,463,463 2,648,545 Metals (Total)............................................ 12,311,159 8,765,064 Petroleum Products (Total).................. 47,766,404 50,395,713 Radios (Total)............................................ 92,214 66,355 Rubber Goods (Total)............................. 856,013 956,313 ENGINEERING EQUIPMENT & SUPPLY COMPANY, Inc. MACHINERY • MECHANICAL SUPPLIES • ________ENGINEERS • CONTRACTORS________ AIR CONDITIONING For Offices, Theatres, Hospitals, Stores, Restaurants, Hotels, Clubs and Homes ★ ★ ★ Suppliers of MACHINERY, EQUIPMENT and INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES For Sugar Centrals, Mines, Sawmills, Power Plants, Machine Shops and All Industrial Plants ENGINEERING - DESIGN - APPLICATION - ESTIMATES INSTALLATION MAINTENANCE SERVICE REPAIRS General & Sales Office 1 74 M. de Comillas Manila Tel. 3-29-21 ★ ★ ★ Operating: MACHINE SHOPS • STEEL PLATE SHOPS STRUCTURAL STEEL SHOPS • WELDING SHOPS • ’ • BLACKSMITH. SHOPS • SHEET METAL SHOPS • MARINE RAILWAY Engineering Shops No. 1 Calle L. Segura & Pasig River Mandaluyong, Rizal Tel. 6-65-68 ★ ★ ★ March, 1950 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 17 —Robot Statistics Beverages, Misc. Alcoholic.................... 40,829 54,387 Foodstuffs (Total kilos).......................... 22,491,674 49,555,739 Foodstuffs, NOS (Total)...................... 9,503 18,249 Foodstuffs, Fresh (Total)....................... 104,243 295,383 Apples...................................................... 32,572 56,006 Oranges..................................................... 5,723 10,328 Onions...................................................... 18,978 85,030 Potatoes................................................... 7,983 37,522 Foodstuffs, Dry Packaged (Total).. . . 36,601 112,500 Foodstuffs, Canned (Total)............. 335,076 720,284 Sardines............................................ 42,592 148,700 Milk, Evaporated................................. 156,651 152,704 Milk, Condensed................................... 27,349 25,800 Foodstuffs, Bulk (Total)........................ 422,265 848,138 Rice........................................... ........... Wheat Flour........................................... 358,343 752,403 Foodstuffs, Preserved (Total)............... 296 6,829 Bottling, Misc. (Total)........................... 1,865,224 4,658,266 Unit — 404,508 (1949) Unit — 166,589 (1950) Cleansing and Laundry (Total)........... 620,074 476,788 Entertainment Equipment (Total) . . . 12,755 9,181 Livestock — Bulbs — Seeds (Total).. 744 103,558 Medical (Total).......................................... 842,247 649,907 Musical (Total)......................................... 116,867 154,254 Office Equipment (Total)....................... 209,974 230,570 Office Supplies (Total)............................. 46,160 109,949 Paper (Total).............................................. 6,657,171 5,854,433 Photographic (Total)............................... 36,746 25,740 Sporting Goods (Total)........................... 143,763 74,348 Stationery (Total)..................................... 407,280 475,332 Tobacco (Total)........................................ 1,072,271 1,701,412 Chucheria (Total)..................................... 176,090 202,715 Clothing Apparel (Total) 417,712 882,403 (Including men’s, women’s and children’s)............................................. Cosmetics (Total)...................................... 207,704 460,765 Fabrics (Total).......................................... 1,048,897 987,291 Jewelry (Total).......................................... 37 33 Leather (Total).......................................... 224,099 230,384 Textiles (Total)......................................... 3,754,019 6,560,053 Twine (Total)............................................ 94,240 88,397 Toys (Total)............................................... 122,381 117,526 General Merchandise (Total)............... 713,057 523,054 Non-Commercial Shipments (Total). . 45,469 60,133 Advertising Materials; Etc. (Total).. . 804,873 25,795 Automobiles and Trucks By Karl E. Gay Sales Representative, Ford Motor Company BECAUSE of conflicting interpretations of the regula tions concerning the presentation of applications for import quotas on passenger automobiles and of additional information required by the Control Office sub sequent to presentation, no import quotas for passenger cars have yet been issued, and, because of the latest action on the part of the Cabinet directing the budgeting of dollar expenditures for exports, it is extremely doubtful when or even if such quotas will be forthcoming. As can be seen from the attached charts showing the accumulated sales for the year 1949, more trucks were sold than passenger cars, although the passenger-car per centage was very high in view of the import restrictions, but this is explained by a large inventory carryover from 1948. Sales possibilities for the future are uncertain, at least until the present situation clarifies itself and pro duction schedules can be scaled down to the level of the new regulations. As unit-volume drops, however, all dealers will be forced to turn to the service-side of their business in order to stay in business. As unit-sales volume decreases, collections on out standing notes receivable will increase without .the corre sponding re-utilization of funds thus obtained, and thus a trend will be seen toward a large cash position. Fairbanks -Morse for dependable electric power at low cost! Where dependability and economy are of prime importance, small users choose Fair banks-Morse Model 42 Diesel Generating Sets. One reliable and established company stands behind both generator and Diesel engine. The engine is heavy-duty, 2-cycle, continuous service type- Its slow speed means long life . . . and it can be operated successfully on lower grades of fuel- Can be supplied in either A.C. or D.C. See us today for full details. Exclusive Distributors ATLANTIC, GULF & PACIFIC CO. OF MANILA — Merchandise Sales Division — Robert Dollur Bldg., Muelle del San Francisco & 23th Street Port Area, Munila Tel. 3-36-61 (Connecting all Depts.)