Page 105 - 5 Persian Trade rep BUSHIRE I_Neat

BUS1IIRK. 5
excessive “ rahdari ” or road levy charged on them by tribesmen on
the road, and tliis taxation—which was officially abolished by the
Persian Government when the commercial arrangement of 1003 was
made with the United Kingdom—continues from the gates of Bushire
most of the way to Shiraz. In addition local chiefs seized the
opportunity to allow the purchase of fodder from themselves only
at ruinous rates. The consequence is that muleteers are gradually
leaving tliis route and going to the north, where they arc less
molested ; the falling-off of the number of mules and donkeys
available for transport is most marked, and will, it is apprehended,
materially influence the price of transport and disturb trade.
The constant increase in the smuggling of tea, coffee, spices, &c.,
is also undoubtedly having a very prejudicial effect on legitimate
trading in these articles, and in Bushirc to a certain extent it
restricts the scope of import business. The excessive duty on
these articles is the direct cause of this smuggling, and
Indian tea especially suffers. From one Arab port alone in the
Gulf more than 1,500 cwts. of tea were smuggled over in native
craft to the Persian coast. Despite the large imports of Indian
tea into Persia no Biitish-Indian importing agencies in Bushire
appear able to deal in the article under present conditions.
(iii) In a year when the state of the country was so much against
remunerative trading it might have been expected that imports
would have been curtailed, pending the disposal of stocks remaining
over from 1006. On the contrary, however, there was a great
increase, with the natural result of the over-stocking of the two
principal markets—piece-goods and sugar. With trade at a stand­
still in the inland centres, owing to the troubled state of tbc country,
and merchants in the towns unable to send out their merchandise
into the districts, the end of the year was particularly bad. This
state of things was aggravated by over-trading on the part of
many small dealers, who, with credits far in excess of their capital,
had ordered out goods and were unable to hold on to them and
await a favourable opportunity for disposal. Such forced soles',
generally at a loss, when several times repeated during a year,
necessarily spoil prices and gradually undermine the stability of
small traders. The difficulty of collecting outstandings and having
claims settled has, however, doubled in comparison with that
of even two years ago, partly owing to the state of the market, but
largely to the weakening of the authority of provincial governors
by the new regime. Tins affects Persian, as well as foreign, mer­
chants and is likely to become a serious question.
The fall in exchange and the appreciation of the kran, which was
especially marked in the months of July, August and September,
1907, had more than one unfortunate effect on foreign trade r
for Persian merchants, finding it favourable to the import trade,
proceeded to order out heavy consignments of cotton goods of
which the state of markets inland during the following months-
did not allow them to dispose to advantage. There was a general
(468) A 3