In 1876 the total imports into the island were £2,110,000; the total exports, £2,200,000.
In 1877 the total imports were £1,594,200; the total exports, £1,694,800, which was below the average.
In 1877 the imports into the capital were as follows, which shows a marked change in the position of the importing countries:—
| Great Britain | £619,900 |
| United States | 110,200 |
| France | 103,100 |
| Germany | 36,880 |
In some of the smaller ports the position of the trade of the United States was relatively better. In Les Cayes, for instance:—
| United States | £119,172 |
| Great Britain | 23,692 |
| France | 22,030 |
| Germany | 1,715 |
A portion of these imports from the United States consisted of manufactures in transit from England. We appear to be holding our own everywhere as regards piece goods and iron, whilst five-sixths of the imports of the United States consist of flour, salt pork, and other provisions. The Haytians are French in their tastes, but the cheapness of our Manchester goods enables our importers to hold their own. The great export, coffee, appears in great part ultimately to reach French ports, as it is not appreciated in other countries, whereas its cheapness and good quality recommend it strongly to the French Government for the use of the army.
When in Port-au-Prince I drew the attention of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the great discrepancy between their published returns and those of our Board of Trade. In 1865 our exports are set down at £1,163,274, and in 1866 at £1,425,402, for the whole island. Santo Domingo takes but a small amount, whilst the Haytian custom-house did not acknowledge more than half the amount of our returns. Either we overvalue our goods in England, or the smuggling must be large.
The imports from the United States appear to have greatly fallen off since 1864, which must imply that the peasantry are planting more food and consuming a very much smaller amount of imported provisions.