Page 253 - 7 Persian Trade rep Muscat 1_Neat

REPORT

ON THE
TRADE OE MUSCAT

FOR THE YEAR 1915-11
by Mr. E. B. Howell, C.I.E., I.C.S., His Britannic Majesty’s Consul at Muscat.

height in xte early autumn when tlic advances of
Introduction.
buyers from India on the c:rrcnt date crop to the
Muscat is the capital and the chief port of the growers, who will only take payment in dollars, are
Sul tana'.e of Oman, which extends along the ut their maximum.
southern skoro of the Gulf of that name from the The following table shows the rate of exchange
entrance t> the Persian Gtlf as far as -.he exticmc-st between dollars and rupees month, by month for the
easterly point of Arabia. The Sultan’s authority last throe years :—
is also, to iomc extent, recognised along the south­
east coait, as far as Has Sajar, opposite Socotra, JfCLth. 1013-11. 1914-15. 1015-16.
and the commerce of that region, in part, passes
through Yu scat. R*. It*. R*.
Muscat is tho only port of call for steamers in April . 1«4 111 123
Oman. I: has a deepwater harbour sheltered from Slay 1*9 1U l.'3i
all sides except tho North-West, with good anchorage, Juue KOI Hot 126
but is cut off from the interior by rugged ranges of July 1521 144 126}
Augu.4 .
U4*
1404
124
rocky hills. The only path inland runs through tho Sep timber 15 H 1334 lz3*
adjoining town of Mat rah, which also has good Octoter . 15-1J 1344 1214
anchorage, but more exposed than that of Muscat. XoTcraber 152* 131f 1221
December 1474 126 1314
January . 1474 1254 132
Currency. February 14*54 1264 1234
March . 14.54 125 1314
In Muscat and Mr.trail Indian rupees are generally
accepted, tit elsewhere the Austrian Maria Theresa The fin creation s in the value of the dollar afford
dollar (which tho Arabs commonly believe to be of an opportunity for speculation which the Indian
French origin) is the usual medium of exchange. trader finds hard to resist. This is why specie is
The copper coinage is a local issue minted in India apt to loom large in the Muscat returns of imports
in 1895 to the order of Said Faisal, the then reigamg and exports.
Saltan.
Trade accounts are kept in an imaginary coinage Weights and Measures.
of which tic denominations are two—the gaj and the His Highness the Sultan aaa forbidden the use of
muhamir^jcL Twenty yaj go to one (white) the old bazaar weights and only those prescribed for
muhamm-idi. For the muhammadi is of two kinds, tho Customs Department axe now employed in
white and Hack. Twenty and a half black or eleven Muscat, Matrah and tho ooas; towns. They are :—
and a half white equal one dollar. Tho white 1 Ivy** — the weight of i dollar* or 5*9375 or.
viuhammadi is U6cd in reckoning wholesale accounts 24 m — 1 Moicat macad.
and the oxbar for retail transactions. Uundit (bills 10 Qu&aads — 1 f&xlula.
of exchange) drawn in India upon Muscat are LOO „ - 1 bahit.
usually in nuhammadu and not in rupees. Rice is sold by tho bag; other cereals by the
The Maria Theresa dollar, being a silver coin and following measures
ptli* - 1 funk.
not a token, like tho rupee, fluctuates in Talue con­ 20 £tfrmhs — 1 KhsadL
siderably. It is affected by tho world-price of silver
and also by the local demand, which reaches its • Hold* «1Uju ot lice 4} of wheat.