Tobacco

Title

Tobacco

Language

English

Source

The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume XXIV (Issue No.7) July 1948

Year

1948

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

July, 1948 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 263 The domestic market was fairly steady. There were buyers of the regular grade of centrifugal sugar at ?16 per picul, delivered Manila, and for the better grades of centrifugal and washed sugar prices were from Pl7 to P20.50 per picul. The drought has been broken and welcome rains have fallen in most sugar districts. This is enabling planters to finish their planting, and the growing cane is reported to have staged a speedy recovery from the effects of the drought. As the Cuban milling season draws to a close, latest estimates of the crop indicate that it will exceed 6,600,000 short tons, which will be an all time record for Cuban sugar production. Tobacco By the Conde de ChuRRuca Compania General de Tabacos de Filipinas SALES of leaf tobacco are more than steady in the local market and the desire to buy is increasing, with the result that the prices paid to the farmer in Union, Pangasinan, and the Visayan provinces are out of pro portion with the actual value of tobacco in the world market. This extraordinary situation while benefiting the farmers and small dealers for the moment, may have an adverse future effect, as it is becoming harder and harder to export our tobacco. Actually, one can get better prices in the local market than those paid by foreign countries, even with the further peculiarity that these countries pay higher for Philippine tobacco than for that produced in other countries, i.e., Santo Domingo.and Brazil. The principal reasons for the declining prices of to bacco in the world market are as follows: 1. Tobacco-producing countries are having a hard time of it to dispose of their crops, due to the lack of dollars necessary for international trading, and thus having to make very attractive offers to entice the buying countries. 2. It was hoped that the Marshall Plan would ease the buying potentialities of many countries, but in fact, until important extra stocks of tobacco are disposed of in the United States, it is not probable that money will be released to buy from the former countries. 3. Tobacco has ceased in some countries to be con sidered an article of prime necessity. A recent remark attributed to a British member of Parliament ran as fol lows: “If smokers had nothing to smoke they would have to be content to suck their fingers”. (I guess that Churchill was not the one to make this statement, and that many voters will give serious consideration to their status as thus implied.) 4. The high prices paid for leaf tobacco in recent years have extended the cultivation of tobacco in many countries where former it was produced only for local consumption. One of these countries is Santo Domingo, and, as it is forced to sell 'in dollars, it had to reduce its prices and now offers lots at about $26 for 100 kgs. and probably will go as low as $20. Here this would mean $18.40 a quintal f.o.b. and this price includes every expense. Our farmers are receiving ?23 to P25 a quintal. None of these facts, actually affect our local market, and would do so in an adverse way only if foreigrt cigarettes were to sell here, due to the low cost of leaf tobacco, in open competition with the cheap brands of local cigarettes. This would of course force down prices, and the first cut would have to affect the cost of leaf tobacco. SUPERIOR GAS & EQUIPMENT COMPANY MANUFACTURERS * MANUFACTURERS' REPRESENTATIVES EXCLUSIVE DISTRIBUTORS OF “NATIONAL” CARBIDE and WELDING EQUIPMENTS AND SUPPLIES S U G E C O 0L ‘ Highest Purity z OXYGEN and ACETYLENE Gases For All Welding Purposes HYDROGEN Gas for Balloons CARBON DIOXIDE Gas (CO) e “Superflame” Bottled Gas for ALL COOKING PURPOSES & 9v6< Tappan” Gas Stoves 5^ WITH COMPLETE INSTALLATIONS AND SERVICE FACILITIES DIAL 6-88-02 WE DELIVER Be hospitable Your clients, customers, and visitors, too, deserve comfort. The style of your office will be greatly enhanced by having STEELCASE visitors chairs around your desk. STEEL-gray colored with green luxurious leatherette upholstery. * DISTRIBUTED BY F. n. STEVENS & CO., INC. EX HOGAR FILIPINO Bldg. 264 AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL July, 1948 YOUR SECURITY SEAL! THE PHILIPPINE GUARANTY CO., Inc. FIRE, MARINE, MOTOR CAR, WORKMEN S COM PENSATION, MISCELLANEOUS INSURANCE, FIDELITY, SURETY BONDS, MORTGAGE LOANS. 3rd Floor • Insular Life Bldg. • Plaza Cervantes MANILA Telephone 2-81-12 SILVER AND JAVA PACIFIC LINES SILVER LINE. LTD. London, E. C. 2 KERR STEAMSHIP CO., INC. General Agents 17 Battery Place New York JAVA PACIFIC LINE N. V. S.M. “Nederland” N. V. Rotterdamache Lloyd Amsterdam —Rotterdam JAVA PACIFIC LINE, INC. General Agents 25 Broadway New York MANILA VANCOUVER ILOILO To and From SEATTLE CEBU PORTLAND LOS ANGELES and SAN FRANCISCO and To and From BOMBAY and CALCUTTA SILVER LINE, LTD. KERR STEAMSHIP COMPANY, INC., GENERAL AGENTS 17 Battery Place, New York 4, N. Y. FROM "U. S. ATLANTIC COAST PORTS 'TO MANILA FROM PHILIPPINES T O HALIFAX AND U. S. ATLANTIC COAST PORTS For Particulars See: ROOSEVELT STEAMSHIP AGENCY, INC. . AGENTS 3rd Floor, Trade & Commerce Bldg., Juan Luna Tel. 2-82-01 The recently passed law on cigarette taxes, increasing to P3.50 the lowest bracket for cigarettes not subject to extra tax, might do the trick. A proposed amendment to the law would lower this bracket again to P3.00, but this can not be considered until next session of Congress which opens in January. In the meantime it will be interesting to observe if it is easy to change the taste of the many local cigarette smokers, once they get a chance to buy imported American cigarettes at almost the same price as the native ones. It is easy to see that the leaf tobacco situation here is artificial, and based on local circumstances of momentary importance only. If the business is to survive and to return to normal, it will have to follow the world market trends. In normal times nearly 80% of our leaf tobacco was exported, in open competition with other producing coun tries. Only big crops can enable us to recover our old markets (for the benefit of the farmer). Philippine tobacco has qualities of its own which are very much appreciated, and cannot be easily replaced by the tobaccos of other countries. Legislation, Executive Orders, and Court Decisions By Ewald E. Selph Ross, Selph, Carrascoso Janda LAST month we had incomplete information on legisla tion as very few bills had been acted upon by the President at the time the Journal went to press. S. Bill 248 condoning interest on pre-war obligations from January 1, 1942, to December 31, 1945, was vetoed. Rep. Act 199 provides for retirement of pre-war treasury certificates. Rep. Act 211 provides for the retirement within one year from June 1, 1948, of all PNB circulating notes, ex cepting certain notes listed as issued illegally by the Japanese Military Administration and also excepting others which the Secretary of Finance may certify upon investigation to have been illegally issued. Rep. Act 215 (H.B. 1730) provides a new time limit (through 1949 unless operations are resumed earlier) with in which to perform certain terms and conditions relative to mining claims. Rep. Act 217 (H.B. 1692) imposes the new luxury taxes. Rep. Act 218 extends vacation and sick leave priv ileges to government employees who have rendered 6 months continuous satisfactory service whether permanent or temporary. Rep. Act 219 increases the taxes on spirits, wines, and other liquors and on cigars an<f cigarettes. Rep. Act 224 creates the National Airports Corpora tion and empowers it to manage, control, and operate all governnjent airfields and to acquire and construct new ones, to fix and collect tolls, fees and charges, except land ing fees and royalties on gasoline, oil, and accessories del ivered to aircraft, which must be approved by the Civil Aeronautics Board, and prescribe terms and conditions under which the property under its control may be used. Rep. Act 225 (H.B. 1773) amends the limitations on the number and area of mining claims any one person or entity may hold.

pages

263-264

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