Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/1062

 70G

GUATEMALA

metals are found ouly in small quantities. Industries more or less prosperous are the manufacture of woollen and cotton goods, cement, bricks, earthen- ware, furniture, cigars, &c., and the preparation of ramie ; also foundries, sugar mills, breweries and distilleries are at work.

Commerce.

The following are the statistics of trade, in dollars (gold for imports and currency for exports), for the years indicated, including bullion and specie : —

—

1893

1894

1895

1896

1897

Imports. Exports.

6.383,835 19,087,000

6,937,000 20,324,000

8,911,627 26,534,394

11,429,2001 23,085,544

8,584,8212 19,775,800

1 Or 26,287,145 dollars silver, 2 Or 21.462,053 dollars silver.

In 1897 the chief imports were : cottons, 1,716,984 dollars gold; cereals, 659,832 ; wine, beer, spirits, 667,176 ; preserves, &c., 350,444 ; iron, 246,961 ; railway and telegraph material, 227,267 ; woollens, 312,475 dollars gold. The chief exports were: coffee, 18,875,700 dollars silver; bananas, 77,548 ; hides, 205,965 ; silver coin, 473,000 dollars silver. Of the imports the value of 1,484,246 dollars gold came from Great Britain; 875,873 from France ; 1,483,710 from Germany ; 2,296,790 from the United States. Of the coffee exports (824,755 quintals in all), 543,807 quintals went to Germany ; 123,277 to Great Britain ; 137,055 to the United States.

In the customs returns, the country whence goods are shipped is entered as the country of origin, and the port to which goods are consigned as the ultimate destination.

The trade of the United Kingdom with Guatemala (according to the Board of Trade Returns) for the last five years was as follows : —

—

1893

1894 1895

1896

1897

Imports into U.K. from Guatemala.

Exports of British pro- duce to Guatemala.

£ 368,256 257,969

£ 337,333 316,685

£ 383,011 430,447

£ 409,133 428,303

£ 375,858 232,160

Of the imports from Guatemala into the United Kingdom in 1897, coffee amounted to 374,939/. ; of the exports to Guatemala, cottons amounted to 85,185Z. ; cotton yarn, 28,965/. ; iron, 18,961/. ; machinery, 24,984/. ; woollens, 15,964/.

Shipping and Communications.

In 1897, 614 vessels of 782,076 tons entered the ports of the Rei)ublic. The vessels belonged mostly to the United States.

There is a line of railway from San Jose through Escuintla to the capital (85 miles), a line from Chaniperico to Retalhuleu (32 miles), and one from Retalhuleu to San Filipe. New lines to a length of over 210 miles between l*orL Barrios and the capital are l)eing constructed ; in 1898 about 133 miles was completed, and was worked by an American firm, which received from the Government a bonus of 40,000 dollars per mouth. The line con-