Tobacco

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: Tobacco
Creator: Satrustegui, Ricardo Padilla
Language: English
Year: 1954
Rights
Fulltext: 392 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL October, 1954 piiihi MUKnmiiisni; I II II I'll II I I IIH 449 Dasmarifias Manila AMERICAN RADIATOR & STANDARD SANITARY CORPORATION AMERICAN VALVE COMPANY AMES BALDWIN WYOMING COMPANY BADGER METER MANUFACTURING CO. BADGER FIRE EXTINGUISHER CO. BALL BROS. MASON JARS BOMMER SPRING HINGE COMPANY CAPEWELL MANUFACTURING CO. CARBORUNDUM COMPANY COLUMBUS COATED FABRICS CORP. COLUMBIAN VISE & MFG. CO. CORBIN LOCK COMPANY DICK BROTHERS MANUFACTURING CO. EKCO PRODUCTS CO. GREAT NECK SAW CO. JACOBS MANUFACTURING CO. KEENEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY MALLEABLE IRON FITTINGS CO. NORTH WAYNE TOOL COMPANY PABCO PRODUCTS, INC. “Pabco” Products R. E. DIETZ COMPANY RADIUS AKTIEBOLAGET SLOAN VALVE COMPANY SOLARINE COMPANY TEMPLETON KENLY JACK CO. UNION CARBIDE & CARBON CORP. National Carbon Division “Eveready” flashlights & batteries Linde Air Products Division “Union” Carbide “Oxweld” Welding Rods, Supplies and Generators “Prest-o-Weld” Welding and Cutting Apparatus UNITED STATES STEEL EXPORT CORP. ♦ STEEL PRODUCTS HOUSE FURNISHINGS GENERAL HARDWARE PLUMBING Manila Hemp By Robin Duncan Third Vice-President Conrad & Co., Inc. AT the beginning of September, consuming markets were firm, mainly as a result of lower production of hemp throughout the Philippines. Davao machine cleaned hemp was offered in New York at: I — 17<! Jl — 15-7.8(5 S2 — 16-1.2(5 G — 15-3Z 8(5 During the first half of the month, prices in London and Japan increased steadily, though United States manu facturers were not inclined to follow any advance. In Europe the firmness in hemp was partly offset by a decided weakness in sisal. By mid-September, prices in New York had advanced 1/2/ to 3/4/, after which the market started to decline when heavy selling of loose fiber in Davao was reported. Prices in Europe followed the trend in the United States, and by the end of the month, the market in London was stagnant; there was, however, a fairly steady demand for streaky grades. In' New York, prices had declined to lower than those prevailing at the start of the month, though certain grades, mainly F, S2, and I, were scarce and so maintained their price levels. The Philippines-Japan Trade Agreement was again extended until January 31, 1955. The Japanese financial situation has still not permitted M.I.T.I. to return to the “Automatic Approval” system of licensing imports, and importers’ allocations for the period July-September have only just been released. Before the news of the further extension of the Trade Agreement, considerable business was done on the basis of DA/J1 $43, G $40, c.i.f. Japan, though by the end of September prices had declined in sympathy with those of other consuming maikets. We detail below the usual statistics. Balings—January,'August Inclusive 1954 1953 1952 1951 1950 Davao................................... 314,841 341,238 358,788 339,211 238,643 Albay / Camarines Sorsogon.......................... 82,109 130,966 111,835 184,960 115,300 Leyte Samar...................... 83,837 70,597 84,828 120,176 77,022 All others.. 57,124 64,506 55,994 70,696 50,974 Total............................ 537,911 607,307 611,445 715,043 481,939 Exports—January;August Inclusive United States and Ca nada.................................. 123,297 Continent of Europe . . . . 119,627 United Kingdom............... 78,683 Japan.................................... 131,929 South Africa...................... 5,800 China................................... 2,960 India..................................... 4,791 Korea................................... 17,693 Australia and New Zea land................................... 6,264 Others................................... 5,417 223,619 224,783 429,963 240,564 124,615 74,829 107,392 112,653 80,390 61,698 126,091 54,009 156,426 104,984 87,108 55,630 6,510 6,750 13,115 4,125 1,495 5,143 3,930 9,258 5,930 3,300 4,632 4,030 . 1,580 — — 3,100 2,200 1,150 1,300 1,631 570 160 Total............................ 496,461 597,774 515,360 778,792 452,737 Tobacco By Ricardo Padilla Satrustegui Cia. Tabacalera NATIVE TOBACCO. There is little tobacco left in the hands of farmers as the demand is heavy for the short crop. Prices continued to be attractive during September and slightly higher than during the previous months. Some provincial dealers prefer not to sell as yet, hoping to get still better prices in the coming months. Leaf-tobacco buyers in Manila were offering Pl 10 per bale October, 1954 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 393 to L-3 agents in the Cagayan Valley as a buyer’s offer, but no sales were recorded, showing that there was still a strong sellers’ market. Greatest interest of the Cagayan Valley was in the extensive plans for the next-crop seedbeds. In order to avoid last year’s destruction of seedbeds, first by a typhoon and later by a flood, farmers were making plans to prepare seedbeds every 10 days in order to be able to transplant at the right moment and, also, to sell seedlings to other small growers. Many precautionary measures were being taken to prepare seedbeds in different areas so as to avoid destruction of the higher-situated seedbeds by strong winds, or of the lower ones by floods. According to a rough es timate, we could say that due to the very attractive prices paid this year to leaf-tobacco growers and, also, due to the big demand of the export trade, the increase in tobacco acreage willl be some 30% higher than last year. However, the crop, of course, will depend more on the weather than on the acreage planted. Several tobacco plantations in Isabela province were again using fertilizer, trusting to obtain an ideally fruitful composition after considerable experiment and study of soil formation. Last year’s experiments proved a higher yield per hectare, with the same quality characteristics of Isabela’s fine tobaccos. Hardly any tobacco is left on the Luzon west coast (La Union, Pangasinan, and Ilocos) in the hands of dealers, most of the tobacco being already in Manila. In the Ilocos, La Union, and Pangasinan regions it was difficult as yet to make an estimate of the increase in acre age. It is believed that in La Union, 1/4 of the acreage planted will be given over to the local variety and 3/4 to native Virginia, while in the province of Pangasinan, 1/4 will be for Virginia and 3/4, for the local variety. The Visayan region follows the developments in Luzon very closely. Prices were more or less the same as last COLUMBIAN ROPE COMPANY OF PHILIPPINES, INC. HEMP AND COPRA EXPORTERS STEAMSHIP AGENTS * Singer Building Port Area, Manila, P. I. ¥ BR ANCHESi Davao • Tacloban • Cebu • Tabaco IT’S STRANGEBUT TRUE! Our Confidential Surveys Disclose that Many Business Firms, otherwise Most Modern and Efficient, Handle Cash and Bank Deposits in the Most Careless Ways Imaginable. The Full Burden is Placed on Luck and Insurance. we can Correct this for you............ and Save you both Money and Worry. Ask us for a Free, Confidential Survey. ARMORED CAR DEPT. — PROVINCIAL AIR-DROPS SECURITY DELIVERY SERVICE ------------------- 1 IM C.------------------613 M. H. Del Pilar Telephone 5-63-90 American Management and Methods Subscribe to the JOURNAL To Keep Your Files Complete 394 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL October, 1954 It Doesn 't COST to AtR-ADYERTfSE... It PAYS ! DZRH __________________ | 1 .,7"] M odkUed B Madcatfong C otnpong [BZMBj ozn The [jrifxndtLbn/ R ' . I ^eauti[ul ------ TO SEE -------TO TOUCH ____ TO OPERATE Modern in design, the MARCHANT is the only Amer ican calculator with dials for checking keyboard entries. Its low-luster finish eliminates reflections causing eye fatigue. With key action twice as light as before, its keys and controls respond to the slightest touch. The MARCHANT is unmatched in accuracy control, sim plicity, speed, and silence. MARCHANT CALCULATOR ERLANGER & GALINGER, INC. 123 T. Pinpin off Escolta Tel. 3-21-61 month, and little tobacco was left for speculation. Tobacco acreage is undoubtedly going to be increased since prices were attractive to farmers and some of the Visayan to bacco was of surprisingly good quality. Virginia Tobacco {locally grown). The acreage of Virginia plantings will increase considerably because of the great demand for this type of tobacco, but Virginia cigarette factories claim that not all kinds of locally-grown Virginia are acceptable to the public and that only the higher grades will be in demand. In the Ilocos provinces, there is a tendency toward increasing the acreage for native-grown Virginia, and about 20 flue-curing barns have been constructed in different localities. A well-known foreign concern is experimenting with new types of Virginia seed. Cigar and Cigarrette Factories. Contradictory statements are made as to the stocks of Virginia tobacco in the Philippines. Many factories claim they will have to close down if no more Virginia is imported from the United States, while some government sources state there still are enough stocks of Virginia to last until 1955. A raid was made on the Sta. Ana Cigar & Cigarette Factory at Hagonoy, Bulacan, where counterfeit internal revenue stamps and several imitation brands of cigarettes were being manufactured. It is a high hope that this good work against tax-evadefs and counterfeiters will be relent lessly continued. Rice By Charles O. Houston, Jr. Director, Graduate School, University of Manila AS supply in production sectors dwindled rapidly at the beginning of the month, all old-crop varieties registered increases over a wide range, from 25/ to Pl.20 per sack (56 kilos). Wagwag, from the South, re mained relatively unchanged. Palay prices, in producing areas, increased: Nueva Ecija ordinario, from P9.70 to P10.60; raminad, P10.00 to Pll.60; wagwag, P11.70 to P13.00. Distribution of NARIC rice (selling at 85/ and 60/ per ganta for macan no. 2 and imported), had some effect upon volume in the wholesale market but did not check the upward trend in prices. The second week of September was marked by steadi ness in the market, except for wagwag which increased 25/ (per 56 kilos). The greatly expanded distribution of NARIC rice in the provinces was generally believed responsible for this steadiness. However, raminad second class and Thai second class, disappeared from the market and macan, both classes, was difficult to secure (as had been the case since the middle of August), not reappearing in any quantity on the general market until the end of the month. This clearly indicated the rapidly dwindling supply in producing centers in Luzon. The third week of September was marked by a growing weakness in the sellers’ market, due to increasing arrivals from the South and the expanded distribution of NARIC rice. All varieties suffered losses over a wide range, from 25/ to P2.00, per sack (56 kilos). As harvest was begin ning in Mindoro and the Bicol, the heaviest demand re mained in the Manila metropolitan area, where prices per ganta had as yet not been reduced to the corresponding level of the wholesale market. Palay prices followed the general trend and fell off by 50/ to 80/ per sack for most available varieties. The higher-class varieties continued their upward trend in the retail market. The fourth week of September continued to be marked by the weakness of the preceding week. Cotabato and Davao shipments were heavy, NARIC rice was reduced to 55/ per ganta, newly-harvested Bicol varieties appeared on the market, so that all varieties in the wholesale market dropped over a range from 25/ to Pl.00 per sack. Macan