Under the enlarged project, the Maitenes plant will be increased to develop 34,000 h.p.; the increase of an existing steam-plant in Santiago will bring another 27,000 h.p. into the market; and the development of plans for the harnessing of the Maipo and its tributary the Volcán at Puente del Cristo means the creation of a large hydro-electric station, capable of producing 65,000 h.p. When these installations are in working order, Central Chile will possess a force of 140,000 h.p. at the disposition of public services, domestic utilities and industry; the horizon thus opened is equal to that of the biggest manufacturing region of South America, S. Paulo in Brazil, where in the city alone about 30,000 h.p. is used to turn the wheels of industry.
The electrification of many Chilean railroads follows as a matter of course: no sooner was the new company formed than the Chilean Government signed a contract for the supply of electric power for the State line connecting Santiago and Valparaiso, and obtained a loan in New York for electric locomotive and other equipment; similar improvement is planned to Los Andes and for the reorganised Transandine line. Transmission lines, bringing power to Santiago from the generating plants, will carry force to Valparaiso by way of Llai-llai and Quillota, with substations at important points such as Tiltil, whence the big cement works of El Melon at Calera will obtain electric power, while Valparaiso’s industries will share in the new impetus.
Chilean Market Needs
Chile’s market needs are on a par with those of other South American countries so far as manufactured metals, especially machinery, mining and railroad equipment are concerned: in common with her sister states, she is also a buyer of such luxuries as fine textiles of wool, silk, and linen, perfumery and other toilet specialties, fine wines and spirits; also many utilities which she cannot produce, as print and writing papers, high-grade glass and ceramic ware, inks, paints and varnishes, cement, and sheet glass.
The best grades of cotton cloth are also imported, for the existing Chilean factories are limited in class of output; there is a considerable import of ready-made clothes, and of fine footwear, although it is but fair to add that Chile produces the best shoes made in South America and that her daintiest satin and kid footwear for women compare well with the output of the great makers overseas; Chilean red and white wines also outclass the vintages of sister states, but while the wealthy resident has plenty of money in his pocket there will always be a certain import of European champagnes and liqueurs, spirits and high-class wines.
Chile’s purchasing power varies a good deal, fluctuating with the fortunes of nitrate. The value of imports during the last few years has swung from 153,000,000 pesos in 1915 to the high-water mark of 436,000,000 in 1918, after which a decline was experienced to 401,000,000 in 1919 and 350,000,000 in 1920. Certain commodities, with coal as the striking example, were almost blotted from the import lists during the European war, and with the encouraging development of the national mines in response to necessity, plus a greatly extended use of petroleum as fuel for industrial purposes, its pre-war place is unlikely to be recovered.
Looking down the lists of Chilean imports, the tendency towards importing materials in the crude state or simply prepared, for working-up in national factories, shows an immense increase since 1914; dependence upon national supplies also increases markedly. Metals in bars or pig, worth less than 400,000 pesos in 1914, were imported to the value of nearly 5,000,000 pesos in 1919; at the same time the value of imported lumber dropped from nearly 3,000,000 pesos to 1,250,000. The value of live animals imported—chiefly pedigree horses and cattle from the United Kingdom and North America, to improve the already excellent livestock of the Chilean farms—went up with a bound at the end of the war, totalling 12,000,000 pesos in 1918; the importation both of leaf and prepared tobacco shows systematic growth; but purchases of foreign meats, butter and cheese, show consistent falls.
The value of sugar imported rose between 1914 and 1920 from 9,000,000 to 25,000,000 pesos, but this movement indicates soaring prices rather than increased Chilean consumption. Purchases of yarns for weaving, of textiles, bags and sacks, and ready-made clothes, all displayed rises in the same period from 48,000,000 to 123,000,000 pesos; so also did crude chemicals, particularly essences for nationally elaborated and bottled perfumes. Imports of machinery, checked during the war period, followed the same curve as electrical goods, doubling their values in 1919 as compared with 1914.
Chilean purchases of tools and implements have shown steady increases, but the whole group of machinery for mining, agriculture and industry, including motors, boilers and electrical goods, does not far exceed 38,000,000 pesos (less than £2,000,000 at 20 pesos to the pound sterling), while material for railways and other transport services costs some 20,000,000 pesos, or about £1,000,000 sterling annually. A fair average for Chilean purchases abroad may be calculated at £20,000,000 or inside $100,000,000 U. S. currency, at normal exchange.