Alimentary products £3,532,509 £4,183,187 £4,709,819 £2,226,053 Beverages 2,358,808 2,526,748 2,655,956 1,155,965 Textile materials and fabrics 10,826,008 9,466,638 9,982,267 5,787,076 Mineral oils, and chemical } and pharmaceutical } 3,092,766 3,254,653 4,048,175 2,174,871 products } Woods, furniture, etc. 1,122,444 1,272,008 1,262,573 728,178 Iron, machines, materials, } implements, utensils, etc. } 6,988,461 6,632,228 6,015,097 3,401,912 Coal and other mineral produce 4,182,160 4,126,910 4,979,839 2,229,224 Various products[75] 21,890,946 25,709,763 20,960,820 10,544,272 —————————— —————————— —————————— —————————— Totals 53,994,102 57,172,135 54,594,546 28,507,351 ========== ========== ========== ========== [Footnote 75: Under this heading of various products are included railway material——rails, chairs, locomotives, etc.——to the value of £4,672,486 in 1905, £7,011,072 in 1906, £10,464,150 in 1907, £6,015,097 in 1908, and £3,401,912 during the first six months of 1909. Building materials amounted in value to £4,400,339 in 1906, £4,604,078 in 1907, £4,236,485 in 1908, and £2,492,276 in the first half of 1909.] We see from this table that the Argentine relies on foreign imports for the greater number of metallic, chemical, and textile products, and even for a great many food-stuffs. An essentially agricultural nation, she has not as yet developed her industrial equipment, nor has she been able to undertake the transformation of the raw materials at her disposal into manufactured products. The development of her agriculture is the object which has hitherto absorbed all the initiative and all the capital of the country. It is this dependence upon foreign countries for so many articles of prime necessity that makes the cost of living in the Argentine so high. All these articles have to pay customs dues varying from 5 to 50 per cent. _ad valorem_; dues which still further increase the exaggerated valuations of the Customs Administration. On the other hand, these imports are by no means so decentralised as the exports; they are brought as near as possible to the centres of consumption, so that they shall not be forced to pay fresh freight dues in the interior. The Customs House of Buenos Ayres handles 84·9 per cent. of the imports; Rosario 9·2 per cent.; La Plata 1·9 per cent., and Bahia Blanca ·8 per cent. As we see by these figures, the Federal Capital almost monopolises the imports, whence arises its disproportionate development as compared with the rest of the country. EXPORTS Here is the table of the exports of the last three years, arranged according to their destination, in order of importance:——