advertising were done. During the past few years a well-known brand of chewing gum has been introduced on the market with considerable success.

ESTHONIA

Consul Harold B. Quarton, Reval

There are 11 large factories in Esthonia producing chocolate and confectionery, 8 of which are located in Reval and 3 in Dorpat. These local manufacturers more than supply the Esthonian market and export considerable amounts of confectionery products to near-by countries. The export of chocolate, for instance, is about four times. the import. There is no market locally for foreign manufactured candies. Raw products are imported for use in the industry, for the most part from Germany.

The import customs duty on chocolate, candy, and confectionery at present is 11.30 gold francs (1 gold franc equals 75 Esthonian marks) per kilo (1 kilo equals 2.2 pounds) under section 24 of the

tariff.

There does not appear to be any market in Esthonia for confectionery from the United States.

FINLAND

Vice Consul Frank P. S. Glassey, Helsingfors

The domestic confectionery manufacturing industry in Finland has increased greatly in recent years. During 1923 there were 22 factories in operation, employing more than twice the number of persons as on their staffs in 1922. Indication of the ability of the domestic industry to cope with foreign competition is seen in the value of import statistics. The total value of the imports of confectionery and caramels in 1923 was only $1,837 compared with $3,412 in 1922, and imports of other kinds of confectionery were valued at $1.627 compared with about $1,930 in 1922. Sweden, Greece, the Netherlands, and Germany supply most of the foreign confectionery consumed in Finland, but the high prices asked for foreign products forms a barrier against encroachment on the activities of the domestic industry.

Under the present Finnish import tariff chocolate and chocolate products carry an import duty of 20 Finnish marks per kilo and various other confectionery is dutiable at 15 Finnish marks per kilo. Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, and England have been accorded a preferential rate of 12.50 Finnish marks per kilo on imports of "various other confectionery" because of a trade agreement which Finland has concluded with these countries.

Under the existing high duties it does not appear that exporters in the United States could ship candy to Finland to compete with the domestic product or with the foreign product from the more-favored countries.

FRANCE

Commercial Attaché Chester Lloyd Jones, Henry Stinson Howlett, Assistant Trade Com missioner D. S. Green, and Consul General A. M. Thackera, Paris; Consul Wesley Frost. Marseille; Consul William W. Brunswick, La Rochelle; Vice Consul Cyrus B. Follmer, Calais; Consul William H. Hunt, St. Etienne; Consul Paul Chapin Squire, Lille: Consul Hugh H. Watson, Lyon; Vice Consul William W. Corcoran, Boulogne-sur-Mer : Consul Otis A. Glazebrook, Nice; Consul Fred D. Fisher, Nantes; Consul Paul H. Cram, Nancy

There are over 200 manufacturers of chocolate in France manufacturing chocolate confections of all kinds for the retail trade. Many of these manufacturers are also making candy for the individual retailer under his private mark, packed in boxes or sacks bearing his name. Practically all classes of trade buy chocolate in bulk and bars, while the demand for fancy boxed chocolates is restricted to the more well-to-do classes. The cheaper grades of package chocolate sell for from 4 to 12 francs per pound and higher grades of chocolate for from 14 to 23 francs per pound. The vast bulk of the chocolate is sold in bars or cakes which average one-quarter of a pound, these cakes sell at from 3 to 10 francs per pound, the cheaper bars which have no milk content being the most popular.

Most of the large manufacturers of chocolates also manufacture hard and filled confections, the prices of which range from 3 to 10 francs per pound.

Candies are not displayed in retail shop windows in bulk paper containers, as is frequently the case in the United States. The retail store generally has a display of uncovered candies of wide variety arranged on plates or in some cases packed in small boxes. There is little uniformity in the size of the package offered. Hard candies are displayed, as a rule, in large glass jars fitted with glass covers. These receptacles allow inspection by the purchaser, while they protect the merchandise. Boxes for candy are usually sold to the customer at a price additional to that of the candy, ranging in price from 3 to 150 francs and even higher, depending upon their material and workmanship.

The great part of the confectionery is sold to the retail trade direct by the manufacturers, who have their own sales organizations and maintain sales agencies in all of the principal cities. Small manufacturers usually appoint agents in the different cities who sell on a commission basis.

The terms to the retail trade are in the majority of cases cash, and only in exceptional cases are any terms extended beyond seven days. Advertising has never attained the proportions nor popularity it has in the United States. It is done largely through billboards, street cars, and in Paris in the subways. The big trade fairs which are held at more or less regular intervals, drawing merchants and consumers from all over the country, are also a means of advertisement for confectionery and other food products.

The imports of sirups and confectionery into France in 1923 amounted to 1,668,017 pounds and the imports of chocolate to 3,094,385 pounds. In the same year exports of sirups and confectionery amounted to 10,449,039 pounds and of chocolate to 6,213,022 pounds.

The share of the United States in the import trade in confectionery is relatively small, and it is extremely doubtful whether it could be developed to any extent.

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The city of Marseille is a great transit point for passengers and tourists, and it might be possible to induce the hotel keepers there to place American candies on sale, but the sales, if any, would be small. Marseille itself is a center of confectionery production, famous for its glacéd nuts and candied fruits.

GERMANY

Consul General Louis G. Dreyfus, Dresden; Consul General F. T. F. Dumont, Frankforton-Main: Consul Nathaniel P. Davis, Berlin; Consul Hernando de Soto, Leipzig; Consul Harold D. Clum, Konigsberg; Consul John E. Kehl, Breslau; Consul Walter A. Foote, Hamburg; Consul Leslie E. Reed, Bremen; Consul Francis J. Dyer, Coblenz Compared with the United States, the per capita consumption of confectionery in Germany is small, and the market has never been extensive. There is, however, a general demand for plain sweet chocolate in cakes, both of domestic brands and Swiss imported chocolate, which is sold everywhere. Candies of great variety of nearly all kinds and flavors popular in the United States are on sale in all the large confectionery shops. Confectionery from the United States is little known in Germany, and at present the circumstances are not such as to favor the development of an import trade in confectionery products. The one exception to this rule is chewing gum, which recently is becoming known on the market and for which there is a growing demand.

The German import tariff on confectionery amounts to 140 gold marks per metric quintal for candied fruits and spices and plain sugar candy, and 200 gold marks per quintal for plain chocolate candy and other items of confectionery containing chocolate and

cocoa.

There are two periodicals published in Germany devoted to the confectionery industry; Konditorzeitung (Simeonstift 15, Trier) and Der Zueckebaecker (Bernburg).

Saxony is one of the principal centers for the manufacture of confectionery in Germany. About 60 per cent of all the German candy factories are located in or near the city of Dresden; the remaining 40 per cent are distributed in Hamburg, Nuremburg, and Berlin. These factories manufacture principally chocolate, but a number of the large factories also manufacture other confections. The larger factories in Dresden employ from 50 to 1,200 workmen. All the large factories throughout Germany are united in the Association of German Chocolate Factories, with headquarters at Berlin, which fixes prices and sales conditions.

Persons in Germany who know the quality of candy manufactured in the United States believe that in the future a market may be developed for its sale. At such time it would probably be best to establish a general sales agency at Hamburg or Berlin with stocks of confectionery, with an arrangement for its distribution throughout Germany. Fruit fondants of good quality and specialties, such as chewing gum, reasonable in price, would have the best market.

GREECE

Consul General W. L. Lowrie, Athens

Due to the present rate of exchange in Greece and the high customs duty on confectionery-about 4 gold drachmas per kilo (1 kilo equals 2.2 pounds)-imports of confectionery have become negligible,

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and the domestic industry has been enabled to keep prices about 30 per cent under those of the imported product. Locally made confectionery covers the bulk of the consumption. Present imports are confined to a few specialties such as licorice, gums, dragés, and peppermints, for which the demand is limited. Importers believe that present conditions in the import trade have come to stay unless there is a radical change in the exchange value of Greek currency.

ITALY

Consul General John Ball Osborne and Consul Ilo C. Funk, Genoa: Consul C. Carrigan, Milan; Vice Consul Alexander P. Cruger, Messina; Consul Harold D. Finley, Naples; Consul W. Roderick Dorsey, Catania: Vice Consul W. W. Schott, Palermo; Consul J. B. Jackson, Leghorn; Vice Consul Frederick W. Baldwin, Florence

Italy manufactures confectionery in large quantities and of good quality, and as domestic consumption is more or less limited there is small margin for importation from foreign countries, and in this margin the United States would probably find but little interest. Imports are constantly decreasing, especially as far as confectionery proper is concerned, and exports to foreign countries are rapidly increasing.

Italy exports confectionery and chocolates to countries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea principally and to South America, while any imports that there are come from Switzerland, France, and Austria.

Imports of confectionery in 1923 amounted to 133 metric tons and of chocolate to 289 tons. Exports in that year amounted to 541 tons of confectionery and 430 tons of chocolate.

The duty on imported confectionery is 60, 70, 80, and 96 gold lire per quintal, depending upon the kind of candy, with an additional manufacturers' tax on the sugar used in proportion to the product. There is also a municipal tax in all the large cities, differing according to the locality.

The confectionery industry in Italy is particularly well developed in the northern part, some of the largest manufacturers being located in Piedmont and Lombardy.

LATVIA

Consul John P. Hurley, Riga

Confectionery is widely used in Latvia, and several large factories in Riga, Libau, and Mitau producing various kinds of confectionery and chocolate are able to supply the needs of the country. The annual output of the four largest factories in Latvia is estimated at approximately $1,600.000. The total value of confectionery and chocolate manufactured in Latvia is estimated at about $4,000,000. Chocolates, sugar candy, gumdrops, glacéd fruits, caramels, and marzipan are the principal kinds of candy produced in Latvia. Caramels and candies are exported to Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland, Esthonia, and Lithuania. No chocolate is exported. Because of the local manufacture of confectionery and the comparatively high duty levied on such goods-under paragraph 24 of the Latvian customs tariff this duty is lats 3 (about $0.60) per kilo gross weight (1 kilo equals 2.2 pounds)-the importation of

confectionery is limited almost exclusively to chocolate. These imports come principally from Switzerland and are effected through local agents and representatives of foreign firms. The value of imported chocolate is estimated at about $975 per year. Imports of such specialties as glacéd southern fruits and chocolates are estimated at about $3,000 a year. The price of imported chocolate is about 25 to 50 per cent higher than that made locally, and its import is thought to be due to the higher quality of the product.

At the present time there is no candy from the United States on the Latvian market, although it is believed that the cheaper grades of filled chocolate confectionery, such as nut centers and marshmallows, would find a good market in spite of the high duty of 30 cents a pound. Practically the only means of entering the market is by placing small orders on consignment, as local importers are not inclined to tie up capital except on merchandise whose quick turnover is assured.

Due to the fact that customs duty is levied on the gross weight, light packing is preferred. Although artistic packing is pleasing to the Latvian, such elaborate packing as is common in the United States is unknown. The boxes are cardboard, with a picture on the cover and no advertising.

Dealers contemplating bulk shipments for repacking must exercise care in the selection of their agents in order to prevent substitution, and care must also be taken to prevent the unauthorized use of the name of well-known brands of candy or any distinctive feature of the container.

THE NETHERLANDS

Vice Consul J. Stanford Edwards, Amsterdam, and P. J. Van Ness, The Hague

The manufacture of chocolate is one of the oldest industries in the Netherlands. There are about 50 factories, mostly situated in and around the city of Amsterdam, with a personnel of about 9.200, engaged in the making of the product. The industry is dependent mainly upon export possibilities.

The type of candy used in the Netherlands is different from that made in the United States, especially bonbons, which must be very fresh and delicate in flavor to suit the Dutch taste; bonbons as made in the United States are considered too heavy and chocolate too harsh and bitter for their liking. The Dutch are experts in chocolate in all its forms, manufacturing probably the finest grades in the world, and their chocolate drinks are unsurpassed by those of any country in Europe; therefore their opinion on chocolate is of value in a consideration of a market for chocolate in the Netherlands.

Caramels, taffies, and hard candies of United States manufacture are much the same as those made in the Netherlands, and it is probable that in this kind of candy a good market might be developed. Package candies, gumdrops, cough drops, and candies for children may be considered in this class. For initial success in entering the field prices must be reasonable. The Dutch do not eat candy in the quantities consumed by Americans; therefore the growth of the trade would be slow. (Highly sugared tea, which satisfied the Dutch appetite for sweets, is drunk in large quantities. in the Netherlands, sometimes from 10 to 12 cups a day.) The candy