Page 466 - 3 Persian Trade rep KUWAIT 1_Neat

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Gypsum mortar is sold by the Idrah of 100 manns There is no square measure in use; and a plot of
of 24 Waqvjaht or 11*133 lbs. The term hi rah is ground is described as being so many dhirut accord­
also used for date palm branches, in which sense ing to the sum of its sides.
it means 1,000 branches.
11 wins find mnsts arc sold by the Calicut handy
or 10 cubit feet 29 cubic inches; round rafters or The Year 1923-24.
spars by the Icorjah or score; and boat ribs by tho
gari or cart load of 10 pieces or upwards according The year under review wa« unfavourable for trade
to size. owing to th continued unsettled state of the interior]
The four-gallon kcrosinc oil tin is used as a mea­ there being no trade with Nnjd throughout the year!
sure of capacity; it is chiefly used for the sale of The pearling season, on which the prosperity of
water, but clarified butter, fat and (Lite Syrup a large number <f the inhabitants of Kuwait de­
arc also sometimes sold by the tin. pends, opened badly, but improved later, and
Of the smaller weights is the habbah, equivalent was on tho whole considerably better than that
to three grains Troy, is used in the sale of gold and of last year. The market rate of pearls was also
silver. Gold is normally sold by the mithqdl ’attdri better.
of 18 habbahs or 54 grains, and also by the Turkish
pound nnd fractions thereof. Silver is sold by the
mithqdl Shlruzi of 24 habbahs or 72 grains. The Imports.
mithqdl ’atturi and the mithqdl Shirdzi arc also both
used for drugs and silk thread, but for this purpose The total imports by sea amounted to £052,064
they arc’ not divided into haWihs, but only into and showed a decrease of 1-19 per cent as com pa red
halves nnd quarters, the niceties of weight being with the figures for 1922-23, winch is accounted
arrived at by using the two milhqdU and their for by the decreased import of barley, charcoal,
fractions in conjunction. Perfumes, as also gold drugs, grocery, cereals, kerosine oil, rice and sugar
thread, arc sold by the tolah of 180 grains. loaf.
In the pearl trade the following weights and Of this import trade 77-98 per cent was with India,
measures are most commonly used in Kuwait. Whole­ 10-97 per cent with the Persian Gulf, 9-96 per cent
sale purchases of pearls from the captains of pearling with ’Iraq, 1-14 per cent with Arab Coast and -15
boats are made chiefly by 6ize. For this purpose, per cent with other countries.
after any exceptionally good pearls, which it is
desired to dispose of separately, have been removed,
the remainder are assorted by being passed through Exports.
a series of perforated brass or copper bowls, the
standard set of which consists of four, the perfora­ The total exports by sea amounted to £276,541
tions of the Largest called rds arc *18 inch in dia­ and showed a decrease of 49-85 j>e cent as compared
meter : those of the second, batn -15 inch : those of with the figures for 1922:23. Tins decrease, how­
third, dhail -13 inch ; and those of fourth Hub?ah ever, is largely accounted for by the com paratively
•11 inch. After being assorted into rds, batn, etc., insignificant quantity of pearls “ shown ” as ex-
they change hands at a previously arranged rate, ported. As however it is never possible to obtain
at so much the mithqal *Arabi, which is equivalent accurate figures for pearls, of which a large portion
to 450 grains. The ordinary pearl then usually is always smuggled out in personal luggage; and
passes from one dealer to another on a more precise as the pearl season was better than that of the pre­
kind of estimate based upon weight; in Kuwait the vious year, the decrease is doubtless much less than
Bombay mithqdl, equivalent to 75 grains Troy, appears from these figures. There was, however,
and subdivided into 24 ratlis each of 15 dnahs is a decreased export of clarified butter, coir, dates,
usually employed. The unit in the dealer’s system specie, sugar loaf, tea, rice, wheat, wheat floor and
is called a chau, and, although derived from a wood for boats.
weight, it is not in itself a weight. The Dumber of Of the total export trade 60-05 per cent was with
c am in a pearl is found by squaring the weight of the Persian Gulf, 19-67 percent with the Arab Coast,
the pearl in mithqals and multiplying the result bv 13-64 per cent with India and 6-44 per cent with
330. The chau is divisible into 100 duhahs, and 'Iraq.
the duJcrah into 10 bad a ms. There are other kinds
of chaus also occasionally used, and obtained by an
idcntica: process from other mithqals, such as Poona Customs Administration and Lighterage.
mithqdl of G8j grains.
The normal unit of length is the dhira, or cubit The administration of the Kuwait Customs Is
of 19 inches, but for rope, which is also sold by supervised by a local Arab, and the system works
weight, the to’ or fathom is usually employed. satisfactorily. An import duty of 4 per cent ad