Page 24 - PERSIAN 9 1931_1940

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evidence to show that large quantities of goods were being smuggled in, though
reports of encounters of smugglers with the customs preventive service were
frequent.
In December a new Belgian Inspector of Customs was appointed to Bushire,
who is, it is gathered, to devote his attention largely to the suppression of smug­
gling-
'Postal Facilities.—Junkers service was reduced to one flight per week from
May onwards. The Dutch and French services to the Far East ran to a fairly
regular bi-monthly schedule throughout the year. Otherwise postal facilities
remained as before.
Foreign Commercial Enterprise.—The promise of the establishment of a freight
* plane * service by Junkers between Bushire and Shiraz did not materialise, and
after a few flights of an experimental nature the scheme was abandoned.
In May, as already stated, Junkers service was reduced from two to one flight
per week and there was talk at the end of the year of the Company’s withdrawal
from Persia unless a new contract on more advantageous terms could be obtained
from the Persian Government.
The Hansa Line continued their sailings to the Gulf, and 3 vessels of the Ame­
rican Silver Line called at Bushire during the summer.
The Russians, as during the previous year, have made considerable progress
in Southern Persian markets at the expense of British interests. Their activities
have been dealt with in Section 1 above.
National Bank.—The majority of Bushire merchants have found it desirable
to open accounts with this bank which would now appear to share such business
as is offering with the Imperial Bank though naturally being favoured as regards
official transactions. The Foreign Exchange Law tended to deprive the Banks of
overseas business since holders of exchange engaged in Foreign Trade and conduct­
ing their operations at bazaar rates of exchange, not unnaturally forbore to deal
through them.
Under the new Russo-Persian Commercial Treaty it looks as if the marketing
of all sugar imports will be placed in the hands of the National Bank, but definite
details in this connection were still lacking at the end of the year.
Opium.—Exports amounted to 3,374 cases as compared with 5,686 in 1930.
Of these no less than 2,564 constituted illicit shipments as against 2,823 in the
higher total of the previous year. So much for the original announcement that
only legitimate licensed shipments would be permitted under the monopoly ; so
much also for the statements of the Persian representative, M. Hussein Ala at Geneva
in January at the 9th Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Traffic in Opium,
to the effect that the Persian export monopoly imposed a formal obligation on the
licence-holder to produce for each package exported a certificate issued by the
importing country.
The terms of the monopoly were modified, notably as regards the sale of
£150,000 to the Government in the first year, for the fulfilment of which, obligation a
period of two years was finally conceded, while according to the Bushire Customs, the
tax was finally fixed at Rials 1,250 equivalent to £62-10-0 per case. It transpired
that the driving force behind the monopoly was being supplied by the notorious
Nemazee family who supplied something like 20% of the share capital of 100 shares
of £l,000, other associates being Behbehani with some 30% and the Pahlevi Bank
(? the Shah) with 8%. Kazerooni is understood to have originally been allocated
14 shares, which he finally left on Behbehani’s hands.
With the lowering of the official rate to Krs. 90 to £ in February and nego­
tiations for the sale of 2,300 cases to the Japanese over a period of 20 months at an
average price of £205 per case, the prospects of the monopoly may be said to have
been brighter than had been anticipated. But this deal fell through, as did also
negotiations for an illicit shipment of 1,500 cases, and in the light of the export
figures the monopoly cannot be said to have had a very good year. The lack of
demand may be partly attributable to the competition afforded by Anatolian
opium, which, in tlm middle of the year, was understood to be priced in Singapore
at £65 per case. This opium while unsatisfactory owing to lack of codein content,
is said to be suitable for the Far Eastern market if mixed in equal proportion with
Persian opium.