Page 436 - 3 Persian Trade rep KUWAIT 1_Neat

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•par# by the korjah or aonro; and boat riba by the there being no trade with Xajd throughout th«
gari or cart load of 10 pieces or upwards according year.
to fire- The pearling acanon, on which the prosperity of a
The four pallon keroseneoil tin is used as a measure large number of the inhabitants of Kuwait depends,
of capacity ; it iB chiefly used for the rale of water, opened badly as regards catch, but improved Later,
but clarified butter, fat and date ayrup arc also and was better on the whole than that of the two
sometimes sold by the tin. previous years. The market for pearls was also
Of the Binaller weights is the halbah equivalent to better.
three grains Trov, is used in the talc of gold and The figures given in Table B arc no real criterion
silver. Gold is normally sold by the tnithqdl 'at tori of the pearls exported, as compared with other
of 18 habbahx or 51 grains, and also by the Turkish years, as they only show those exported by steamers,
pound and fractions thereof. Silver is sold by the no figures being available for the Large number ex­
mithqdl Shiruzx or 24 habbuht or 72 grains. The ported by sailing craft, or for those taken in the
mithqdl 'attdri and the inithqdl Shirdzi arc also both personal luggage of passengers by steamers.
used for drugs and silk thread, but for this purpose
they arc not. divided into habbahs but only into Imports.
halves and quarters, the niceties of weight being
The total imports by sea amounted to £740,278,
arrived at by using the two milhqdls and their frac­ and showed a decrease of 33'1S per cent as compared
tion's in conjunction. Perfumes as also gold thread, with the figures for 1921-22, which is accounted for
are sold by the toldh of 180 grains. by the decreased import of barley, clarified butter,
In the pearl trade the following weights and coffee, dhall, haberdashery, rice, specie, sugar, tallow,
measures are most, commonly used in Kuwait. wheat, wheat flour and window elbows.
Wholesale purchases of pearls from the captains of Of these total import trade 78 09 per cent was
pearling boats are made chiefly by size. For tnis with India, 10-56 per cent with ’Iraq, 9-20 per cent
purpose, after any exceptionally good pearls, which with Persian Coast, 129 per cent with Arab Coast,
it is desired to dispose of separately, have been •13 per cent with America aud -13 per cent with other
removed, the remainder are assorted by being passed countries.
through a series of perforated brass or copper boa Is,
the standard set of which consists of four; the
perforations of the largest called rax are *18 inch in Export.
diameter; those of second, batn *15 inch: those The total export bv sea amounted to £551,460
of third, dhail, *13 inch ; and those of the fourth and showed an increase of J; 11 per cent as compared
rdbCah *11 inch. After being assorted into rds, with the figures for 1921-22.
bain, etc., they change hands at a previously arranged Of the total export trade 50-98 per cent was with
rate, at 60 much the mtihqal *Arali, which is equi­ India, 33 46 per cent with Persian Coast, 3-69 per
valent to 450 grains. The ordinary pearl then usual­ cent with ’Iraq, C-75 per cent with Arab Coast and
ly passes from one dealer to another on a more ■12 per cent with other countries.
precise kind of estimate based upon weight; in
Kuwait the Bombay mithqdl, equivalent to 75 grains Customs Administration and Lighterage.
Trov, and subdivided into 24 rattis each of 15 dn.ahs
is usually employed. The unit in the dealer’s system The administration of the Kuwait Customs is
is called a chau, and, although derived from a weight, supervised by a local Arab, and the system works
it is not in itself a weight. The number of clous satisfactorily. An import duty of 4 per cent ad
in a pearl is found by squaring the weight of the valorem is charged, and there is no export duty,
pearl in mithqals and multiplying the result by 330. except on goods brought in from the Interior, such
The chav is divisible into 100 dukrahs, and the dukrah as clarified butter, hides, wool, etc., on which 4 per
into 10 baddma. There are other kinds of chaut cent is charged if exported.
also occasionally used, and obtained by an identical The arrangements for lightering and landing
process from other mithqals, such as Poona mithqdl cargo at Kuwait arc superior to those at any port
of 68} grains. in the Perisan Gull
The normal unit of length is the dhirff, or cubit
of 19 inches, but for rope, which is also sold by Freight, Shipping and Navigation.
weight, the la or fathom is usually employed. Kuwait owns about 200 sailing boats engaged in
There is no square measure in use ; and a plot of the carrying trade, as distinct from pearling and
ground is described as being so many dhird's according fishing boats. Of these si..tv have a carrying capa­
to the sum of it* fizc. city of over 100 tons, including 8 of over 300 tons
and 20 of over 230 tons.
Introduction. The British India Steam Navigation Company,
The year under review was not favourable to Limited, maintain a weekly service from, and a
trade owing to the unsettled state of the interior, fortnightly service to, India.