Trade and Commerce.

The Republic has important commercial relations with all the principal European and American markets.

Its commerce is represented by the variety of goods imported into the country and the agricultural products and cattle exported to other countries.

The imported goods are, according to the statistics, all sorts of drinks, food and provisions, cereals and spices, stuffs of all kinds, clothes, materials for industry, machines and many other goods that cannot be classed here.

The principal exports of the country are salted meat, tasajo, preserved meat, extracts of meat, tallow, horns, bones, hides, wools, preserved and dried tongues, ostrich feathers, live stock, corn, flour, wheat, canary seed, hay, oats, bran, barley, flax, vermicelli, potatoes, stone, lime, granite, pavements, agate stone, etc., etc.

The following table gives an idea of the exports and imports of the Republic from the year 1862 to the year 1891.

Years.	Imports.	Exports.	Total.

1862	$ 8,151,802	$ 8,804,442	$16,956,244
1864	8,384,167	6,334,706	14,718,873
1866	14,608,091	10,665,040	25,273,131
1867	17,657,918	12,077,795	29,735,713
1868	16,102,475	12,139,720	28,242,195
1869	16,830,678	13,930,027	30,760,705
1870	15,003,342	12,779,051	27,782,393
1871	14,864,247	13,334,224	28,198,471
1872	18,859,724	15,489,532	34,349,256
1873	21,075,446	16,301,772	37,377,218
1874	17,181,672	15,244,783	32,426,455
1875	12,431,408	12,695,610	25,125,018
1876	12,800,000	13,727,000	26,527,000
1877	15,045,846	15,899,405	30,945,251
1878	15,927,974	17,492,159	33,420,133
1879	15,949,903	16,645,961	32,595,864
1880	19,478,868	19,752,201	39,231,069
1881	17,918,884	20,229,512	38,148,396
1882	18,174,800	22,062,934	40,237,734
1883	20,322,311	25,221,664	45,543,975
1884	24,550,074	24,759,485	49,309,559
1885	25,275,476	25,253,036	50,528,512
1886	20,194,655	23,811,986	44,006,641
1887	24,615,944	18,671,996	43,287,940
1888	29,477,448	28,008,254	57,485,702
1889	36,823,863	25,954,107	62,777,970
1890	32,364 627	29,085,519	61,450,146
1891	18,978,420	26,998,270	45,976,690

The participation every country had in the imports and exports of the country during the last five years is represented by the following figures:

IMPORTS.

			PER	CENT.
FROM.		1887	1888	1889	1890	1891

England		27.26	32.32	28.44	27.17	28.85
France		16.71	15.37	14.98	15.74	13.05
Brazil		7.42	8.96	6.80	7.64	8.88
Spain		8.73	7.49	7.10	6.71	2.63
Italy		6.89	8.14	8.86	8.12	10.31
United States		6.91	5.37	9.26	7.55	4.89
Germany		11.53	10.32	9.32	8.67	9.72
Belgium		4.86	5.41	4.42	4.59	3.85
Isle of Cuba		0.88	0.61	0.51	0.60	1.10
Argentine Republic		1.80	2.58	3.93	8.16	8.31
Chile		0.39	0.40	2.38	0.86	0.67
Holland		0.26	0.09	0.29	0.29	0.09
Paraguay		0.61	0.44	0.23	0.40	0.51
Sweden		....	....	....	0.03	....
Portugal		0.10	0.08	0.09	0.13	0.13
India	}
China	}	0.03	0.07	0.01	0.03	....
Japan	}
Peru and Ecuador		0.03	....	....	.....	....
Switzerland		0.10	0.04	0.02	.....	....
Mauritius		0.05	....	....	.....	....
Austria		0.01	....	....	.....	....
Canary Island		0.01	....	0.03	0.10	0.01
Russia		....	....	0.56	0.04	....
Various ports		5.42	2.28	2.77	3.17	....

Total		100	100	100	100	100

EXPORTS.

		PER	CENT.
FOREIGN.	1887	1888	1889	1890	1891

England	20.09	18.17	13.69	13.56	18.37
France	13.29	16.27	20.13	21.04	23.27
Brazil	13.67	19.39	12.69	11.27	17.55
Belgium	17.96	12.25	15.84	10.80	13.25
United States	8.16	8.31	5.55	6.89	6.85
Cuba	5.12	2.22	0.96	0.81	1.29
Spain	0.82	0.82	1.41	0.83	0.84
Italy	1.69	1.32	1.47	1.23	2.08
Germany	1.72	4.44	5.01	3.51	5.45
Argentine Republic	6.00	7.34	8.82	8.77	9.16
Chile	0.76	1.39	1.66	1.22	0.62
Paraguay	0.03	....	0.03	0.11	....
Reunion Island	0.08	0.11	0.02	....	....
Peru	0.03	0.04	....	....	....
Portugal	0.79	1.04	0.77	1.15	0.68
Maloina Island	....	0.06	0.01	....	....
Canary Island	....	....	....	....	0.01
Mauritius	....	....	....	0.20	0.04
Carribee Island	....	....	....	0.02	0.08
Barbado Island	0.03	....	0.01	0.01	0.01
Various ports	7.67	6.83	11.93	18.58	0.45

Total	100	100	100	100	100

The trade and exterior commerce of the Republic in relation with its population has always been superior to that of the Argentine Republic and Chile.

The following table shows that out of the imported goods during the year 1891, there correspond to each inhabitant $13.50 more than to each inhabitant of the Argentine Republic, and $3.61 more than to each inhabitant of Chile. It shows also that each inhabitant has exported $10.19 more than each inhabitant of the first country, and $14 more than each one of the second country.

Argentine Republic (1891.)		What corresponds
———		to each
4,000,000 Inhabitants.		inhabitant.
Imports	$ 67,207,780	$11.80
Exports	103,219,000	25.80
	——————	———
Total	$170,426,790	$37.60

	Chile (1891.)
	——
	3,000,000 Inhabitants.

Imports	$ 65,090,013	$21.69
Exports	65,963,100	21.99
	——————	———
Total	$131,053,113	$43.68

	Uruguay Republic (1891.)
	———
	760,000 Inhabitants.

Imports	$ 18,978,420	$25.30
Exports	26,998,270	35.99
	——————	———
Total	$ 45,976,690	$61.29

The annual middle term of the commerce between this country and the United States of America from the year 1887 to the year 1891 is, for imports $2,014,267, and for exports $1,828,947; which proves a very important commerce between both countries, representing an annual value of $3,843,214 or $320,267, more or less, per month.

So as to prove the importance of our commerce with North America, as well in imports as in exports, we give here the statistics of this commerce during ten years, from 1882 to 1891: