SHIPPING AND < CATIONS 781
For 1917 and 1918 the value of the chief imports and exports was as
follows : —
, ortt
1017
1918
£.
Bananas
283
Coffee .
815,848
Gold, silver and
corn, •utxates from .
mines .
Hides and skins .
Timber .
Impart*
. Coffee lag* Flour Lard Drugs Kice . .78
Of the import value in 1918, 445,008/. (57 "90 per cent.) was trom the United States, 60,50 1 {>er cent.) from the United Kingdom,
108,030/. (14 05 per cent.) from Spanish America, 15,552/. (169 per from France. Of the value exported, 1,791,590/. (90"46 per cent.) went to the United States, 34,341/. (174 per cent) to the United Kingdom. 5,»S6Z. (0-29 per cent.) to Spain, and 125,977/. (636 per cent.) to Spanish America.
Total trade between the United Kingdom and Costa Rica (Board of Trade Returns) for 5 years : —
— 1?16 1918 191 ' 1930
Imports from Costa Rica into I'.! Exports to Costa Rica from U.K.
Skipping and Communications.
There are no official figures available as regards Costa Rica shipping, On the Atlautic coast there are several small sailing vessels and power launches, and ou the Pacific coast some motor launches.
In 1919 there entered the ports of the Republic 479 vessels of 486,131 tons, and cleared 421 vessels of 465,074 tons. " Limon is visited regularly by steamers of 4 shipping companies (1 British, 1 American, 1 Dutch and 1 Italian) connecting it with ports of Europe and America. The American line are steamers of the United Fruit Company, formerly under British flag, now transferred to American flag. Three lines visit the Pacific port of Puuta Arenas.
The railway system connects San Jos-i with the Atlantic port, and has been extended to connect the capital with the Pacific port. The length of railway is 402 miles— the Costa Rica Railway, 182 miles (main line and branches ; San Jose to Limon, 103 miles) ; the Pacific Railway (state owned), 81 miles (San Jose to Punta Arenas, 73 miles), the Northern Railway, 65 miles, and the United Fruit Co. Railway, 67 miles. "When the Railway system is completed, through rail communication will be established between Port Limon and the new port of Almirante in Panama. At San Jose there is an electric tramway of 8J miles. Iu 1916 a road for motor traffic was completed between San Jose and Heredia, a distance of 7 miles.
In 1918 there were 182 post offices. The number of postal packets despatched and received was 2,247,831.
There were (1918) 1,533 miles of telegraph lines and telegraph wires oi a
