Manila Hemp
Media
Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal
- Title
- Manila Hemp
- Creator
- Robie, M. S.
- Language
- English
- Source
-
The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXVIII (No. 8) August 1952
- Year
- 1952
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- August, 1952 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 313 Deliveries of refined sugar for the week ending July 19 totalled 165,826 short tons, compared with 163,392 short tons for the previous week and 114,214 short tons for the corresponding period in 1951. Total United States distri bution to July 19 was 4,500,410 short tons, as compared with 4,489,620 short tons to the same date last year. Molasses. The Molasses Committee of the Cuban Sugar Institute sold 7,500,000 gallons to Publicker at $0.12 per gallon f.o.b. plus 2-3/4% export tax. The pre vious quotation had been $0.20 per gallon. Total ship ments of Cuban molasses to the United States for storage, as of July 15, were 130,900,000 gallons. Only 9,500,000 gallons had been sold for export as of that date. 1952 Cuban production of molasses up to July 15 was approxi mately 400,000,000 gallons. International Sugar Council. Following its meet ing on June 23/24 in London, attended by representatives of 18 governments and by observers from 7 other govern ments and from the FAO, the Council issued a press com munique reading in part as follows: “The Council adopted the report of its. Statistical Committee, estimating free market supplies for the crop-year ending 31 August, 1952, at 7,335,000 metric tons, and estimating requirements at 4,950,000 metric tons. “The Council heard a report from Baron Kronacker, the Chairman of its Special Committee, on the progress made in the drafting of a new International Sugar Agreement. “The Council decided to recommend the governments which signed the Protocol prolonging the present Agreement to 31 August, 1952, to sign another Protocol prolonging that Agreement, on the understanding that as soon as a new Agreement comes into force the Protocol will terminate. To this end the Council decided to press on with the negotiation * of a new International Sugar Agreement and that a meeting of its Special Committee should be held in September.” Local Market, (a) Domestic Sugar. Demand con tinued good throughout the month with prices ranging from P15 to P16, ex mill warehouse, for ordinary centri fugals, and from P15.90 to P16.90 for regular grade washed. The Sugar Quota Administration, in the face of recurrent fears of a shortage materializing later in the year, has estab lished a tentative domestic quota for the 1952-53 crop of 299,000 short tons, and it is thought that the first 195253 crop millings will be charged against the domestic quota until the local stock position is assured. This expectation has kept the market on a fairly even keel. In addition to these steps, the Sugar Quota Administration is permitting the remainder of unsold export sugar to be converted into domestic. (b) Export Sugar. The month under review has seen little or no activity in the United States export sugar market, most of the crop being already disposed of and most tra ders having withdrawn from the market. Attention is being directed in political circles to the increasing quanti ties of so-called Muscovado sugar being shipped to Japan. General. 1951-52 Milling. Of the 27 centrals milling for the 1951-52 crop, 24 have finished milling, with a pro duction of 1,039,789 short tons. The production of the 3 centrals still milling is estimated at 158,306 short tons, of which 119,795 short tons have been produced up to July 13, or a total production to date of 1,039,789 short tons, indicating a final production of 1,078,300 short tons, or 4,000 short tons in excess of the previous official estimate. ADVERTISE in the JOURNAL ¥ It goes straight to the desks of leading government and business execu tives every month Manila Hemp By M. S. Robie General Manager Columbian Rope Company of Philippines, Inc. June 30 — July 30 DURING the first two weeks in July the market for Manila hemp, which had steadied somewhat during the latter part of June, showed mixed trends which were characterized by continued sizable buying on the part of Japanese spinners and a fairly steady market for certain selective grades of Davao and non-Davao in both New York & CO.Z INC. j. m. menzi bldg. rein a regente cor. soler manila tel. 2-79-27 314 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL August, 1952 Stay healthy and build more energy with Get more fun out of life Make your life worth living by put ting more pep into it. Build up more energy by taking rich, highly con centrated B 0 I E ’ S EMULSION. This wonderful health-giver contains natural vitamins derived from pure Norwegian Cod Liver Oil. BOIE S EMULSION FORMULA: Coil Liver Oil 50% with Hypophosphites. National Formulary V. Sold at all Leading Drug Stores throughout the Islands Made In The Philippines hy BOIE-WATSONAL LABORATORIES An Incentive to BETTER SALES CUNANAN’S UP-TO-DATE WALL MAP OF THE PHILIPPINES 34 X 48 inches Hung up in the room, tacks will indicate where you make heavy, lean, or no sales at all. 3 useful inset maps Physical & Physical-Economic Maps of the Phils., and Air Routes of the Orient. P4.50 (Mounted ¥12.50) PHILIPPINE EDUCATION CO, 1104 CASTILLEJOS QUIAPO, MANILA TEL. 3-22-51 P. O. BOX 620 and London, but with a general underlying weakness which became steadily more apparent as the month progressed. Finally, during the last week in July, the market experi enced a further serious decline in prices which has been, as of this writing, impossible to properly evaluate due to the almost complete absence of buying interest in London and New York, this having caused exporters in the Philip pines in many places to withdraw from the market pending stabilization of prices at some level at which they could make selling progress. The long-awaited increase in production which was expected in non-Davao areas had not yet materialized in the middle of July, but there were indications during the last half of the month that an increase was underway. Although the rope business has continued poor ac cording to recent reports from the United States, it is our belief that the almost complete withdrawal of American buyers from the fiber market has been occasioned by (1) the news which has leaked out that the Stockpile in Wash ington will not be purchasing additional quantities of Philippine abacd, and (2) the continued weakness in sisal prices. Insofar as the European markets are concerned, they continue to be plagued with a shortage of dollars and the situation during the period under review indicates that their problem in that respect has become even more serious. Japanese interest in the market was somewhat abated due to the fact that the Philippines-Japan trade Agreement was extended until September 30. Also, they began to take cognizance of the fact that they had been paying over other consuming markets and so were not buying as aggressively at the close of the month as had previously been the case. There will undoubtedly be more interest in Japan in the lower grades of Philippine abaca for paper-making as prices continue to decline. As of this writing it is impossible to see anything in the immediate future other than a further decline in prices. The question does arise, however, as to how far a decline can go in the Philippines without seriously affect ing production, particularly considering the fact that the cost of living for the average producer in this country has not declined apace with the decline in selling prices of the commodity which he is producing. Below are the figures for balings and exports for the January/June period. BALINGS—JANUARY/JUNE INCLUSIVE 1952 Davao................................... 264,451 Albay, Camarines and Sorsogon............................. 86,426 Leyte and Samar................. 76,098 All other non-Davao ... 41,804 1951 1950 1949 1948 254,895 166,038 112,701 116,744 Total 468,779 559,840 354,094 281,641 362,246 151,254 89,343 63,449 112,069 97,887 58,436 60,853 65,038 55,813 40,277 44,638 68,395 EXPORTS—JANUARY/JUNE INCLUSIVE 1948 1952 1951 1950 1949 United States and Ca nada ................................. 170,017 330,913 157,669 100,092 166.279 Continental Europe......... 86,621 92,687 55,296 59,597 57,926 United Kingdom............... 50,394 93,729 37,204 17,688 47,185 Japan.................................... 59,043 69,913 50,724 75,777 83,175 South Africa....................... 5,800 9,590 2,885 2,616 1,460 China.................................... 4,808 2,145 7,960 7,673 5,988 India..................................... 2,670 3,442 3,830 2,181 490 Korea................................... — — 3,100 — — Australia and Ne# Zea land................................... 850 1,300 625 350 42 All other countries........... 160 — 80 2,853 Total............................ 380,363 603,719 319,293 266,054 365,398 It is interesting to note that whereas the exports to Japan for the first 5 months of the year averaged slightly in excess of 8,000 bales a month, that this jumped to over 16,000 bales during the month of June. On the other hand, the exports to the United Kingdom and the Continent August, 1952 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 315 which had averaged approximately 24,000 bales during the first 5 months of 1952 dropped off to only approximately 15,000 bales during the month of June. Exports to the United States during June were somewhat higher than the previous 5 months average. Balings continued their down ward tendency during June, being some 13,000 bales lower than the January/May average. Tobacco By Luis A. Pujalte Secretary-Treasurer Manila Tobacco Association, Inc. (Member Tobacco Board) TOBACCO purchasing in La Union, Ilocos, Pangasinan, Visayas, and Mindanao is continuing very slowly, with approximately 85% of the crop already in the hands of dealers. In Isabela and Cagayan, dealers are proceeding with caution and, generally, most of the tobacco purchased to date was that on which the dealers had previously made cash advances payable on the basis of prices current at delivery time. In general the crop in Isabela and Cagayan is not very good because of the lack of moisture during the "growing period. It is estimated that the decrease in the First to Fourth Superior qualities, as compared to last years’ crop, will be up to. only 35%. Consequently, prices will be lower than last year, as the percentage of filler-leaf will be much greater and it has a lower market value. I am pleased to quote a United States crop report received from Messrs. J. E. Bohannon & Co., Inc., Bowling Green, Kentucky: “Generally speaking, the weather has been hot and dry in prac tically all tobacco growing sections of the United States for the past week. However, the crops beginning in the Georgia-Florida belt extend ing through South Carolina, eastern North Carolina, middle belt, and old belt are most promising. The planting as a whole has been about two weeks earlier than normal. The acreage is fully as large as last year. Therefore, unless something unforeseen happens, we should have an excellent quality crop and a large one. We understand support prices by grades will be just about the same as last year. “It is estimated that in south central Kentucky and Tennessee the Burley acreage has been all transplanted with a good stand and that in central and northern Kentucky the crop has been 85% trans planted. There has been a sufficient amount of plants in the planting of these types, which is also about two weeks earlier than normal, and should make an excellent crop of tobacco. The acreage will be fully as large as last year. “The same condition appears in the Dark Fired, One Sucker, and Green River Districts.” PASIG RIVER BODEGAS GENERAL BONDED WAREHOUSES ¥ SOUTHWESTERN SUGAR & MOLASSES CO. (FAR EAST), INC. MOLASSES BUYER 145 Muelle de Binondo Tel. 2-63-10 THE ROUTE OF THE BEARS Serving THE PHILIPPINES Imports Ey S. Schwelkes Mercantile, Inc. ALL figures are in kilos with the exception of those for foodstuffs which are given in package units: Commodities Automotive (Total)............................................ Automobiles...................................................... Auto Accessories.............................................. Auto Parts......................................................... Bicycles............................................................. Trucks................................................................ Truck Chassis................................................... Truck Parts....................................................... Building Materials (Total)............................... Board, Fibre..................................................... Cement............................................................... Glass, Window................................................ Gypsum.............................................................. Chemicals (Total)................................................ Caustic Soda..................................................... Explosives (Total)............................................... Firearms (Total).................................................. Ammunition...................................................... June, 1952 1,344,193 111,630 935 277,870 749 73,719 285,542 163,755 8,483,456 80,801 6,360,714 > 608,647 4,215,970 273,782 7,152 6,938 June, 1951 877,725 195,087 80 127,315 132 34,489 104,021 82,188 3,533,462 34,973 121,589 525,390 80,739 9,483,675 395,403 133,984 9,063 9,060 JAPAN HONGKONG U. S. WEST COAST PORTS FAST - REGULAR - DEPENDABLE UNITED STATES LINES, INC. GENERAL AGENTS PORT AREA MANILA