How to know tariff

Title

How to know tariff

Language

English

Source

The American Chamber of Commerce Journal Volume 6 (Issue No.6) June 1926

Year

1926

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

26 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL June, 1926 THE RICE INDUSTRY By Fekcy A. Hill of Munoz Nueva Ecija. Director, Rice Producer* Association, As previously pointed out the pri ces of both palay at the shipping points and rice on the market remain prac tically pegged, the former selling nt from P4.15 to r‘4.20 per cavan of 44 ki los and the latter ar from 1’9.40 to P9.60 per sack of 57'2 kilos. Stocks from Saigon and Siam have however continued to arrive at the same prices, proportion ately, and there is small chance, as before pointed out, of the cereal going higher than 8 to 10 per cent. In one way the overseas import serves to regulate the market price, which is based on world demand and supply, thus giving the consumer his “daily bread” at a reason able price with but little flunctuation. If, supposing that the islands were self-sup porting in this vital cereal, with the tariff removed, we could see that inter-provincially the prices would soar in ratio with supply and produce a “domestic problem” peculiarly its own. However owing to lack of expansion due to natural causes and an adverse climatic condition, there would ap pear no speedy hope of the Philippines becoming self-supporting in rice, which, taken with the factor of increasing popula tion, is itself a problem of the future. It would appear obvious then that the islands should concentrate cn the produc tion of export crops, such as hemp, sugar and copra, all of which crops produced by units of some magnitude have ways and means of bettering their peculiar industrial problems, the first of which is of course agricultural—that of production at lowercosts. That the rice industry is susceptible to this factor, goes without saying, but as a matter of fact little or practically nothing has been done on those lines to benefit the industry as a whole. For example, a study of reducing the 1012 varieties of com mercial palay to some score of standard kinds would be an immense gain to all con cerned. The breeding of these kinds so as to produce them with a thinner hull, would mean also a gain of many millions to the producer, and a relative lowering of prices to both millers and consumers. It is notice able however that many growers of the bearded varieties are discarding them for the un-bearded, as being better yielders. besides putting their product on a more commercial basis, which is a hopeful sign. To show how one oriental country is com ing to the front in the production of rice as a main export crop, the following figures may not be out of the way, for money is, after all, liquid prosperity. Siam is con centrating on rice production and is rapidlyovertaking Indochina and will soon rank second, Burma being a good first. The export in cargo tons of rice for the vear 1923 was 1,373,470; for 1921, 1,314,330; and for last year, 1925, 1,608,770 with a value of 157 millions of ticals. Imports ex ports, and the proportion rice bore to the latter for the same three years is also in teresting, as it shows that the government of this un-educated country takes a national interest in economics. Imports In millions of ticals: Exports. Rice 1923 136 173 143 1924 147 155 124 1925 159 191 157 While Siam has the soil and climatic conditions, plus irrigation, this nevertheless is a solid contribution to national wealth, which has nothing to do with politics what soever. We may also predict for this for tunate country an advance in wealth and higher standards based on real fundamen tals—the wealth cf its greatest natural resource—the soil—plus agricultural pro duction. We might also state that this self evident fact is too patent. People see it without believing it. Sometimes a person is so close to a fact that he cannot see it. HOW TO KNOW THE TARIFF Sixty four years as a publication marks the 1926 edition of the Custom House Guide, just published. Recognized as the omy authoritative and complete information l ook of its kind, accomplished through an inexhaustible search for and a thorough knowledge of customs and shipping needs, today it is found indispensable for the ef ficient conduct of customs, import and ex port business and their allied fields. The United States customs tariff, with all corrections to date, is published in this edition with a special alphabetical index of 20,000 commodities, showing paragraph numbers, rates of duties, Treasury deci sions and abstracts, etc., arranged by cus toms authorities for official use and its publication authorized by the Collector and the Controller of Customs at the Port of New York and the Treasury Department at Washington, a complete and authorita tive compilation. The 1926 edition contains a complete re view cf each principal port in the United States, Porto Rico, Virgin Islands, Philip pine Islands and Canada, giving the customs, port and trade officials, limits, descriptions, port charges, marine data and facilities of each port, in addition to a classified business, directory of represen tative warehousemen, customs and ship THE YOKOHAMA SPECIE BANK, LTD. (ESTABLISHED 188 0) HEAD OFFICE: YOKOHAMA, JAPAN YEN CAPITAL (PAID UP)............... 100,000,000 RESERVE FUND.................. 86,500,000 UNDIVIDED PROFITS............ 5,805,990 MANILA BRANCH 34 PLAZA CERVANTES, MANILA K. YABUKI MANAGES PHONE 1759—MANAGER PHONE 1758—GENERAL OFFICE brokers, exporters, importers, banks, rail roads, steamship lines and agents, etc., in each pert, thereby covering thoroughly the entire import and export field. The recognition of the Custom House Guide as an American institution of cus toms, import and export reference has been gained within the past few years through its world wide circulation. Foreign gov ernments, consuls, trade organizations and lusiness houses throughout the world have given it valuable space in their business libraries, making it necessary for the pub lishers to establish branch representations in the principal ports of the world, to handle the growing demand for the Cus tom House Guide service cooperation. Nineteen twenty-six edition, 1,400 pages, 5x7% inches, map insert, $5 postpaid, is published and may be obtained from the Custom House Guide, Custom House, New York. —Reprint from Brooklyn Daily Eagle. ANTI-LOCUST ACTIVITIES Journal readers will recall that the bu reau of agriculture has this year P100,00o for anti-locust work. The locusts have not been doing crops the usual amount of dam age in many provinces; as a consequence there is opposition on the part of provincial officials in some instances to the operations cf the bureau’s inspectors, who are not made welcome. This is said to be true of Bukidncn and Zamboanga, provinces in which breeding places are suspected to exist in the highlands. The bureau is confining its work to scout ing for breeding places of locusts, awaiting the hatching of the eggs, then killing the hoppers. , Work is in progress along this line in the mountains of northern Luzon and in Bohol. The bureau’s agents scout for the breeding places. If these are found, guards are placed until the eggs hatch. The law compels all able-bodied men to turn out for the hopper drives. The present work by no means adequately covers the archipelago. It is in fact unfavorable weather and natural enemies that inhibits locust scourges temporarily. They will be certain to recur. /N RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL

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