Page 388 - 5 Persian Trade rep BUSHIRE I_Neat

3*
pjwj proved a notable exception. Rain fell then* ’ and otlnr cistern districts, ami loss wa< grown
at timely season, and a considerable surplus was ] near Shiraz, though cuRivation ^vas more extensive
available for supplying Bushiro aud other districts. • in the province generally than in former years.
The harvest of 1913 was estimated to have | So accurate optima: *s are availal-V*, but it is
btvn in :— j c.-tinutiil that only j of the usual quantity will
Tons. j he forthcoming, de-piiO the yearly increasing
TV «li*triels rorih of E'jshire 12,000 . . cultivation of plppies. It is to be d-<ubt«il if the
-
• oath uTiil <k>t
’ 3>>S>\:iS*Sr I tol*\ output in Isfaha:. and Far*, the two chief
’ j opium-growing proving will excitd in 1'J13
A great deal affecting the prosperity of thi ** ; 3,000 chests.
region depends on the rains of November ar.J ' Prosjxvts for thi* exj-»rt of opium from Bu-hirc
Dcceintier 1913 and March 19lb If plentiful, i and other Gulf Ports t> the United Kingdom aro
a goal harvest is assured and th-r-.* is ewrv reason j not nearly so good in 19)3-14 as in 1912-1913
to hope that prices will fill sulficiontly to jXTinit for the following reasons: —
of exjwrt to Kurojie during the course of 1914, fur
reserves of the 1913 yield, amounting to several (e) Short yield.
thousand tons ia Dashti alone, will then bo avail­ (it) Very high prices demanded by cul­
able for pureh iso. On the otter hand, anolh-r tivators, aid holders in Sbiniz and.
Isfahan.
vear of poor rains and harvest will send prices up
io famine j>oint, indict mi-cry ou the p oorer classes, (*Vi) T.ow price's in London.
aud seriously prejudice purchases of piecc-gooils (ic) A yield in Turkey of more than the
aud other supplies. average 6,50u chests.
There being no irrigation in these di-tricts of ] In addition exporters of opium are threatened with
the littoral, the pro*-|x,rfty of the population dc|vnds i the impodtion of drastic regulations by the Persian
entirely on the rainfall ; Government, which a::n at controlling the produe-
» I ^ . . nl. .. 11
I A ! — A M .1 n. . 1 . C
_
Prices of wheat during 1912-1913 opined at • tion and sale of opium through all its different
.1 . I f__ a
Kraus 16 (5#. lUrf.) per ilashem man of 124 lbs., | stages from cultivation to export. Th-ve regulations
equal to about 23j per quarter, ruse at the end of . are based on a law' of ibe la<t Mcjlis, but have
June to 13 Krans (6j. L/.) and continu'd rising j not yd rcceiv-d th*» assent of all the neceosaiy
to December, when they stood at 36 Krans i authorities. They provide fur an Opium Ad minis-
(10a. Ui/.J. During the rainy s-'a-on, before pith- t ration in the clti* f centred of production and
poets were certain, they fell to 21 Kr.ms [it. <•/) ‘ a large statT of inspectors: the declaration by
but again went up at tLc cud of tii* year. . each peasant cultivator to inspectors on proper
Fur bui’l *y j-riecs ojxxv-d at i2 Krans f\t. hi.) . forms of the amount of land he has sown
per Ilashem man of 124 lbs. (equal to about :4 with poppies, and of the estimated quantity of
shillings per quarter), rose in -ulv to le and th -n ; cruih* juice that will >e rcal.zd : sal-* of the crude
to 20 Krans till the cud of December. In February juice in the cultivator's lield< to take place in the
they dropped temporarily to 15 Krans (or. 5J). | ])n*sence of inspectors and on prescribed days : the
tpia.n.—A goad yield in I-fahau and Kars in \ transport of crude juice to the provincial centres
1912, aud continued high prices iu riuroj*e, led to , under seal and declaration: the kneading and
a large increase of the export, the total record-d j manufacture of the crude product into cakes
bring loU tous valu<d at £'23,217, of this the j for export, anil sticks for local consumption, to take
hulk went to the United Kingdom, ciz., 34 tons j place <n the presence of in>|fetoru, and on approved
valued zi £2u6,ifo5. The export to China jiremisos: dcj>osifc of the export duly to be made,
fell from £ ll9,UG0 or -15 tons to JL 09,120 or 29 and chests sealed b-Fure despatch to coast ports,
tons, but in its stead an item of £ 41,200 )14 tons) Public opinion will l-e Ojqws-.d to the strictuess of
to the Dutch Indies made it? appearance. So great the regulations, aud It is much to be doubt d if
have b:-en the profits realized from the high prices it will be within the powers of the Government
paid till recently in the Far Eastern market, that j to enforce them
despite all the difficulties put in the way of import j Suifici^ut official action may however take place
to China, Persian exporters are very l-«atb to cea-v j to cause the dislocation of the trade in Shiraz and
flopping to that quuter, acd are continually 1 other centies; this would be regr.-itaMe as far as
looking for new destinations for tbrir eon-ign- the legitimate exj*ori of the drag to London for
raents, e.y., Singapore aud Sumatra. Persian medicinal purposes is concerned
merchants are quite out of sympathy with the The number of chests exjorlfd from Bnshire to
anti-opium cra^ade in tbeVar East, since opium London 1912-1913 was 1,1 oU, to Singapore, China
has for years providid them with the most valuable and elsewhere 794.
source of recouping themselves for losses experienc- Buying prices ranged from 550 to F00 Tomans
cd. in other lines of business, of security for' (£110—£160) per enesfc of 1 (SO bricks. There m
obtaining credit from British firms, and of tueir reported to have been a considerable revival of the
own profits: and the Loudon market alone is adulteration of the dreg for the Far Eastern mark-t
precarious, on account of the tluduatiou of prices with “Gunjideh,” The only other joint worthy
and the preference given to the higher grade of remark is the increased use of the drug for
morj'hia obtainable from the Turki-b products, smoking and eating among the p/jiulation of
The Turki'h crop can in normal season- siijiply th** Southern Persia, particnlarly the nomads: and,
entire London demand and the lower grade Per.-ian whereas 111 years ago smoking opium was consi-
opium — 7 p'r cent, of morphia--has hitherto dered ainong the r.ithcr'strict inhabitants of Iludiire
found a go«d market in China and the Par Ea-L and other port* a vice, which was kept secret
The crop of 1913 wa« poor in the Isfahan pro- as far as possible, it is gradually being practised
vinee, onlv J of the normal, and was estimated inu.-h more openly and occasions little remark,
at some 1,209 clic.-ts ; visible stocks of the lit 12 Prices in Shiraz started at Krans 210 (£3-16-4)
crop at the end of March 1193 numl-ered inu.-li per mailnd of 7^ lbs. ; soon rose t/» Krans 240
1**5$ than J ,000. In Kars also the crop was badly j (£4-7-3), and at the • :id of the sea-on ftrxxl at Krana
damaged by locusts and lack of rain in the Fasa J 2GU —270and 23U(L»-14-6 ; £1-1 fc-2 and £5-1-10).