Page 311 - 3 Persian Trade rep KUWAIT 1_Neat

REPORT

OX T1IE

TRADE OF KUWAIT

for the year 1917-18 (1st April 1917 to 31st March 1918)

ET
Captaix D. V. McCOLLUM.

INTRODUCTION. it was therefore decided to prohibit the import
into Kuwait of all kinds of goods without perm.t
Kuwait is a principality on the Arabian side from the Blockade Officer stationed at Kuwait or
of the Persian Gulf, 50 miles from the mouth of j from the Political Agent. This step was taken
the Shatt-al-Arab and 13S miles by sea and 100 ( as a last report and after all efforts on the pait of
miles by land from Basrah. The population, the local authorities had failed to cheek the
which is estimated to be over 50,000, is larger activities of blockade runners.
than any other port on the Persian Gulf. Kuwait The trade of the port in the ensuing rear will
is also an entrepot of goods for Aejd and some of ther,fore receive a «*t-back but for this nobody is
the important towns of Central Arabia and in a . u blamed but the local people themselves,
lesser degree for Mashur, Ilindiyan. and other _ ... , ... ..
nuigLbuuring minor ports on the Persian Coast , The pearl fishery the eh.ef source o£ income
Its trade is not therefore influenced by local *f»l>"ut Lalfthe people of Kuwait, was a success-
conditions onlv, but also by climatic and economic j ^ on^’ Tlie catch was goM ar.d the priee>
conditions of those countries and by the safety of | rca^iZ0^ AVcre t^an Ulvte.
the caravan routes to the interior. .onl.v, a>ou\ one-third of the Kuwait
_ . . , . . , boats participated in the fisherv, the reason for
The disadvantages of shortage of tonnage, thii slfortagc being that pearler's hem NejJ and
highraresof frvight, etc referred tom the report j Basiah a;,uicts jfj nut joLn their heats having
for lSlo-1, continued throughout the rear under wd moa. lucrativc employment ekevchere.
review. In spite ol this, and quite contrary to
expectations, there has been a large increase in IMPORTS-EX PORTS.
trade and the statistics which are compiled from
the manifest books of the Shipping Companies for These amounted to £1,260, 716 and £263,
the Steamer Traffic and those supplied by the ! 4-15, respectively, the former showing an increase
Shaikh's Customs for the Native Craft Traffic : of £793.003 and the latter of 1110,015 as
show that the total trade amounted to theunprecc- j compared with that for 1016-17. 7S.20 per cent,
dented figure of £1,533, 161 as against £624, j of this trade is carried on with India and the chief
243 fi»r 1016-17 showing a net increase of £’^08, I articles which have contributed towards the
918 or 145.60 per cent. This large increase is J increase a.e barley, coffee, rice, pieee-goods, tea,
due no doubt to 6orae extent to the advance of | wheat and wood for building boats in the imports
price of almost every commodity but mainly to i and cbandals, ghee, rice, tea, and wheat in the
wild speculation on the part of the local mer- I exports,
chants who imported certain goods much in excess
of local or u*ual requirements. Some of these, it FREIGHTS, SHIPPING & NAVIGATION,
was foand, were tinling their way, in increasing
quantities, to the blockaded parts of Central The B.I.S.X. Company's steamers called at
Arabia anJ. the Ucdjaz. . At the end of the year [ Kuwait fortnightly during the year on their
71 r. 4 F. 7.