Page 173 - 5 Persian Trade rep BUSHIRE I_Neat

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forwarded to Shiraz and there sacrificed go&ls at far below the invoice
price in the endeavour to keep themselves afloat.
i In the 1007-08 report there was included a list of the chief different
classes of British cotton goods imported in their relative proportions
out^of a total of nearly GOO,000 pieces—the bulk of the import. In­
formation collected from the same sources in 1908-00 gives only a
total of <130,019 pieces divided up as follows (though the classification
is not absolutely rehV ' -
1907-08. 1908-09.
White and grey good* - Pieces. Pieces.
Mexican*............................................. 38,423 1 <5,485
Grey shirtings .................................. 39,302 12,708
White shirtings 45,595 37,048
„ mulls 33,330 4-t,0.>8
„ nainsooks ... 64,000 32,287
Cambrics, lawns and drills 7,065 18,339
Coloured goods—
Print? (fast red, Turkey-red, lamsao,
discharge, asteri, fancy, &c.) ... 186,739 142,809
Dubahrs (also classed as prints)............. 36,027 32,931
Black twills... .................................. 23,211 9,687
Red and purple twills 47,S37 37,308
Red and purple mulls ........................ 11,997 6,179
Black dyed Italians ........................ 4.5 45 2,670
Crimps ............................................. 3,592 9,832
Muslins, leuos, &c. ........................ 43,377 8,791
White gauze .................................. 14,153 4,657

There has thus been an almost general decrease. Light stuffs in
the climate of Southern Persia are second only to food-stuifs for the
Persian, however poor.
Perhaps three-fourths of the orders for mulls which go from Bushire
are for the goods in a dyed state for use as far Inland as Kazerun.
Above Kazerun dyed Mexicans are said to be more in demand.
Possibly the relative cheapness of cotton during the year under
review had something to do with this, though the sale on this side is
much more influenced by demand than by the rise and fall in price of
the material.
Woollen yarn.—German manufactures have]also supplied a consider­
able amount more than is shown in the returns of the total import
in 1908-09, viz., 308 cwts., valued at 4,055J., a decrease on the previous
year. There is a large range of qualities, including Berlin wools,
invoiced at about 35.8d. per lb. c.i.f. Bushire and zephyr yams, pink and
white, at about. 3s. 3\<d. and 3s. per lb. Other black and white qualities
are quoted at 3s. lrf. and 2s. per lb. c.Lf. The Persian customs
duty is 1 kran (4Id.) per 6J lbs.
Prospects.—The year under review closed with most gloomy pros­
pects for the trade in cotton goods. Provided security returns in
Fara, business should become brisk, as imports at the end of the year
bad been much curtailed. Much, however, depends on timely rains and a
good harvest in the spring of 1910.
Loaf sugar.—The continued fall in the import of loaf sugar from
144,334 cwts. in 1906-07 to 90,033 cwts. in 1907-08 and 66,475 cwts.
in 1908-09 was another sign of the disturbed state of the country,
though little or no loss on the actual sale of sugar was reported.