On 28 April 1917, the United States consul at San Jose reported that the available supply of rice in the country amounted to 1,721,800 pounds, and that the present year's crop, ac cording to government estimates, would be 5,131,600 pounds.
Paraguay.- As regards natural facilities climate and irrigation - for the production of rice, the conditions in Paraguay are ideal. The production, however, has never been equal to the demand and it is only recently that the gov ernment, through the Banco Agricola, has taken the matter seriously in hand. The area de voted to rice growing in 1915, amounting to 2,480 acres, was more than double that of 1914, and in 1916 the acreage was still greater. The production for 1915 was estimated at 40,000 bushels. The numerous river bottom lands, convenient to the larger population centres, are being investigated and plans are being formu lated for the study of the problem of efficient rice culture by Japanese experts. The price of refined rice, 26 May 1915, was $0.14% per pound, and the domestic production, unrefined, averaged about $0.04 per pound. Early in 1916 the Banco Agricola instructed its agents that the Committee of Agriculture and Industry, to protect the producers of agricultural products, had authorized the purchase of Paraguayan grown rice in the husk, at $0254 per pound de livered to the agencies of the bank. This mini mum price was intended merely to maintain values and did not prevent others from pur chasing the product at the same or a higher figure. This activity is within the scheme of the same institution for several years, in pur chasing rice in the open market and furnish ing it to the poorer classes at cost. Due to the fact that rice appears in the government statis tics under the heading of foodstuffs, the quan tity imported cannot be estimated. Before the war the greater part came from Germany. Much is purchased through Buenos Aires com mission houses. Imports from the United States began with 1915, 37,212 pounds, valued at $2,323; 1916, 44,440 pounds, valued at $2,250.
Ecuador.- Rice is the principal article of diet of all Ecuadorians and is raised locally to a considerable extent. The production varies from 7,500 to 10,000 tons annually, being sub ject at long intervals to serious droughts. In 1916, due to prolonged lack of rainfall, the crop was reported by the United States consul (23 March 1916) as almost a total failure. The average imports of rice, 1909 to 1913, amounted annually to 4,600 tons, the valuation being, 1909 and 1910, per ton, $44; 1911, $49; 1912, $47 and 1913, $52. In 1916, the price had advanced
to between $70 and $75 per ton. The most pop ular rice consumed is that imported from Peru, the next being the domestic grain, while that from India ranks third. The production is largely in the hands of small farmers and the crop is usually sold or bartered in its raw state to the local merchants, who send it to mill, receiving back 100 pounds of the hulled product for every 160 pounds of the unhulled. There are 19 rice hulling machines in the country. Imports from the United States amounted, in 1911 (fiscal year ending 30 June), to 5,625 pounds, valued at $132; 1912 and 1913, none; 1914, 6,771 pounds, valued at $283; 1915, 127, 092 pounds, valued at $5,106; 1916, 50,000 pounds, valued at $1,955; and 1917, 709,379 pounds; valued at $37,774.
States of Latin Special industries and special products of many of the remaining Latin American states are such that the local production of rice is of comparatively small importance, and, while carried on to a greater or less extent, it is in cluded in the statistics of (agricultural prod As an industry, for example, in Bolivia, the United States consul (Supplement to Com merce Reports, 18 April 1917) states that it has undeveloped because of the lack of adequate means of transportation.° The im ports of rice for the year 1915 amounted to uted49,963, which the United States contrib $13530.
Chile raises very little rice, although a great deal is consumed in the country. The United States consul at Valparaiso (Commerce Re ports, 4 Aug. 1915) states that the annual im ports, taken on the basis of the statistics and tables of 1913, total 40,350,340 pounds, valued at $935,281, the United States supplying 99,427 pounds, valued at $2,305; United Kingdom, 484,240 pounds, valued at $11,224; Germany, 15,684,406 pounds, valued at $363,546; Italy, 9,217,532 pounds, valued at $213,649; India, 8,356,536 pounds, • valued at $193,695 ,• Java, 80,688 pounds, valued at $1,870; Peru, 5,247,499 pounds, valued at $121,631; all other, 1,180,012 pounds, valued at $27,361. In 1914, the im ports amounted to $668,357, and in 1915, $1,106, 187. No imports were made from the United States in 1911, 1912 or 1913. In the fiscal year ending 30June 1914, however, 19,315 pounds, valued at $270, were purchased from the United States; 1915, 1,829,700 pounds, valued at $74, 346; 1916, 7,295,271 pounds, valued at $312,387: and 1917, 9,407,693 pounds, valued at $449,940 -a remarkable gain, bespeaking the Chilean appreciation of the United States product.