Page 375 - 5 Persian Trade rep BUSHIRE I_Neat

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TIushire has two poor anchorages, one rni!«-s, depression. Vet, owing in f-miic measure lo a
the other almost 7 miles distant from the shore; certain diversity of market for Bushire, ns for
the approaches are narrow and shallow, The iiis-t.incc in the districts of tlic littoral which
distance to Shiraz is about ISu miles, thence to provide safe, if not wealthy outlets for stocks,
Isfahan about 2b0 miles, total Ida miles. Tiie at.*! where there is a growing demand for neces­
r«»:nl pis-es through very mouutainou- country. saries, v c., cottons and sugar, and owing in
From .Shiraz to Vazd is 211 miles. There i- a |.*:t to t i. * 1 uoyatt. y and eontidonce with which
very fertile plain of grain pmdu< ing «o.:ntry f.<r 1’* rnan merchants continue l-usiness despite J.eavy
some ICO nidis or so both south ar.d north of losses, trade via Ilushire has increased steadily
Jlushire ami it is naturally a good centre for iu the pa?t two years.
the export of agricultural produce. Hut it6 chief In the report for 1011-12 attention was drawn
advantage over the other ports is its active and t«* the iirq-crtaucc of the districts of the littoral
prosperous commercial community, and their close to merchants at Bus-hire, and from the statistics
interworking with merchants in Shiraz and Isfa­ given in the present report it will be seen that the
han, the result of It centuries of continuous quantity of the chief items distributed in these
trade. There are also other important townships, districts is equal to the quantity which went
ar.d feeders of trade on the road between Ilushire f- rward to Shiraz for transfer to Isfahan, and
and Shiraz, ar.d Shiraz and Isfahan. For many consumption in upj-or and eastern Furs.
years too it has been the headquarters of Persian It can thus he said, with some certainty, that if
Government Administration on the Persian Gulf. the improvement in security on the trade route
Mohammerah l*-'*5 the advantage of a river Vj Isfahan, in general caravan traffic and iu
ancle rage on the Shat-el-Arah, of v- ry extensive the outlying districts of Furs, which, was r»j parent
production of grain in the Arahistuu province, by the end of March 151 ]-3, continues, not only
and of river transport to Ahwaz (.SO miles dis­ will Ilushire trade recover its position as a large
tant; : thence to Isfahan is 200 miles. the e-. ra­ supplier of the Isfahan and Vazd markets, but
van route passing through very mountainous the total trade nJ the port should be far more
country, worse if anything than the Suiraz-l.-fa- extensive than ever before.
han road. There are no towns of importance
between/Miwaz. and Isfahan. The Persian ce i n- Given the continuance of improved security
inertial communities at Mohammerah ar.d Ahwaz, • I taining after March 11*53, the rapid i•.Teas'1
though growing, are uot large. c ? trad- -..i Ihjsliire will only be limited by:— (1 :
I\arth of means of transport, and particular!'.
A* a terminus f< r foreign trade the premier •: r iik'i h'jnical iii-uns of traction over a r-silroad
pusition of Busbire has been hitherto evident, or made roads: (ii) the very stinted range of
even with its physical drawbacks; ar.d the im­ i\nj»orts and lack of enterprise of Persian incr-
portance of its present trading connections, the •• hunts aci laud-owners, due to unwillingness of
enormous length of coast-lino helve*» Bandar the former to .-pecialise in certain lines oF business,
Abbas and Mohammerah, the manifest trade and to the lack of acquaintance of the latter
drawbacks of the former port, ami the vested with useful European mechanical appliances.
interests of Persian trade in Bush ire, all make it
difficult to believe that the la>t n.wr.el could be In v’cw of the importance of the effect nn trad--
left undeveloped in the event of Southern Persia I of security of trailic and rates of hire of (vans-
being exploited by European capital. [ jolt f-n the main route from the coast !o Jsfur
$!atc of Trade in Southern Persia 1912-13.— ; Lan, these questions are treated iu detail !*e;ow.
Perhaps more than any other port in Persia, i Car.:ran routes and Insecurity in 1019-13.—TLe
hasaire was affected by the set-uvk to trade j vcir M;uvh lyj2-13 witnessed for its greater part
resulting from the anarchy prevailing since 1008 ri,e most anarchic and disastrous condition* hither*
in *.-.!ulhcrn Persia. Imports had already reached j to experienced l»v trade along the great caravan
the value of .C1,000,00(J in I.i07-0S, and tae fact | |0utes from the Gulf to Shiraz and Isfahan, hut ti>-
that after a brief period of improvement the wards its close a distinct improvement in security,
mip-oit trade has so far rceovc-red as to touch that . This cheek on the unbridled license of T.reviois
figure once move, is welcome evidence ot the; years coincided with, and in no small measure was
recuperative capacity of the trade of the Port and ;Iu„ t0 lhc ion of WDtr„i on t|K. Al,waz-
its natural tendency to expand if only normal con- ! 1<fah:ln r0.ld bv tj,e Sardar-i-Jang llakhtiari, and
Increases of over the .irr;val of Mukhbir-o-Sultaneh as Gover-
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£in.i,000 and £100,000 .u the imports of two me- ’ nor.Ge„eral of Pars, followed he the rstahlish-
ecssivcyeareare in themselves remarkable, and yet ; mout bv the Kars gonaiirmgrie of posts of men
Re main the disadvantages, msecunty and losses . between Kazcrun and Shiraz, and between Shiraz
in trade in 1U11-12 and previous yeais continued ; an<1 the nortiiera boundary of Fare. The maint-
without abateineut in 1912-13. ( nance of tranquillity, after the expiry of th-**
Stocks of cottons were overloaded, and nearly . period under report, augurs well for a gradual
all importers have been forced to sell large quan- J return to the normal conditions of former times
titles at a loss; traffic has been stopped on the ! and for more prosperous business for sorely tried
main route for considerable Jieriods ; cominanica- mcreh. nts. Coming however as late as it did, tbe
tion with the smaller provincial centres has been ! improvement of security along the roads had ppjc-
rut off from the capital: crops have failed to a large ‘ ticallv no effect on tin* markets for cottons aud on
extent; and general pessimism has prevailed and sales generally during the year under rci*ort: for
Hill prevails among Persian and European mcr- ; the enormous influx of cottons and sugar, follow-
chants as to the prospects of order anJ the t iug on the already hoavv imports and rvyir sa^v-s
authority of the Persian Government being restored • of Ifl 1-12, produced a ‘stagmtmn of business'in
in the interior. Shiraz and all district** depnding on Fare, the like
All these features were marked in 1912-13, ' of which merchants say that thev never rcmcio-
and contributed in the aggregate to a certain Ured before; The business year in fact reproduced