Page 483 - PERSIAN 8 1931_1940_Neat

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SECTION 7.
MANUMISSION.
During 1937, the following number of slaves was manumitted s—
Bahrein Agency 23
Muscat Agency 30
Sljarjr.li Agency 22
A. C. GALLOWAY,
Secretary to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf*

SECTION 8.

TRADE AND TRADE FACILITIES.
1. General conditions.—Previous reports have emphasized the effect of
the Government’s policy of economic centralisation on the trade position in
Bushire. Bushire has, in the past two years, ceased to exist as an indepen­
dent trading centre of any importance, and no longer offers openings for
foreign trade, as local demand, except for staple goods such as, sugar ar d piece-
goods, which are already the object of monopoly, is insufficient to justify
trading for the local market. Deprived of this form of activity, the town has
come to depend solely to the use made of the port, and such merchants as
remain confine themselves to acting as forwarding agents for principals in the
industrial and trading centres of the interior. The economy of the town
reflects the changed conditions in every sphere. Bazaar activity is restricted
to a minimum to meet the demands of local consumers; the monopoly
branches on the other hand, are active. The transport companies, four of
which now exist in the town, have derived considerable activity from the
demands of the forwarding agents; two new garages opened in 1937.
Employment in commercial undertakings tends to decline, the population
becoming increasingly dependent on the official departments, Customs,
Malieh, municipality, etc.
In 1937 two branches of monopoly companies were operating in Bushire,
both with capital subscribed locally, both under head office in Tehran. The
sugar monopoly, which in 1938 is to include the monopoly of tea, earned and
paid a dividend of 25 per cent, compared with 22 per cent, net dividend in
1936-37 ; the piece-goods monopoly after an initial year in which no dividend
was distributed, this year paid 15 per cent, on capital.
Such modification complete the adaptation of Bushire to the system under
which the individual as a commercial or industrial unit tends to be superseded
by some form of communal activity. The few concessions made during the
year to the individual, have had little effect in encouraging new trade ; the
response to the placing of various items of export on a free list (category III)
entailing the right to retain the foreign exchange proceeds of export, has been
disappointing, not so much because merchants are slow or unwilling to trade
under these conditions, as because it is increasingly difficult to find exportable
goods for which there is sufficient demand abroad to render exportation profit­
able.
The activity of the port presents a contrast to the inactivity of the town-
From a peak in the winter 1936-37, Bushire foreign trade has continued active,
though receding from the peak level, and landing and customs facilities have
improved. In the early part of the year, congestion in the customs was a
source of real difficulty; ships had in some cases to overcarry cargo for lack
of space in the wharves and warehouses. The inability of the Exchange Com­
mission to provide the necessary exchange was responsible for a complete
cessation of customs clearances in April and Juno. In the last three months
of the year, however, greater regularity on the part of the Commission (even
though hand in hand with delay) has combined with internal organization in
the Customs to remedy the position. The appointment of a new Provincial
53(C) ExAfiairsDopt.