Page 246 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

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Despite the variations in diet few if any signs of malnutrition were evident and the number of
dysentery eases was the smallest on record for a considerable time. The system of distribution of
food continued smoothly and there were few complaints from the public against the shopkeepers
which was a very definite sign that the Government’s methods were working well because the people
of Bahrain have never been backward in voicing their complaints if they arc dissatisfied.
During the year the Government bought 1,800 tons of rice most of which arrived towards the
end of the year, it will be used for rations in 1365. The price of rice and wheat sold to the public
during 1364 was subsidised by the Government in order to keep down the cost of living. Two flour
mills were installed in a building adjoining the Power House and the Government handed back to
their owners the two mills which had been hired earlier in the war. These mills which were in poor
condition when they were taken over were difficult to run efficiently and constantly broke down owing
to the impossibility of obtaining spare parts.

The sugar ration was maintained throughout the year at 3 lbs. per adult in the towns and
1 lb. in the villages. Tea and coffee were in plentiful supply at all times.
The Government suffered a severe financial loss when an epidemic of pneumonia swept through
the large herds of goats which were being kept on the island. The severity of the epidemic may be
judged from the fact that on one day 400 animals died. Despite the calamity meat was never in
short supply. On several occasions the local butchers, who form a powerful Trade Union, gave
trouble by refusing to co-operate with the Food Control Committee and for some time the Municipal
authorities were compelled to take over the work of the butchers. The butchers of Bahrain have
been notorious for many years, over forty years ago, before strikes were as common as they are
now, they staged a lengthy strike which is still remembered.
After a winter of good rains in Persia which resulted in a satisfactory harvest there was a
steady stream of commodities such as potatoes, gram, fresh and dried fruits, onions, walnuts, etc.,
flowing into Bahrain from Persia. The rice which was bought by the Government was also from
Persia. In the summer a number of merchants managed to import rice by native craft, it was found
that the equivalent of this rice would be deducted from Bahrain’s cereal quota so the Government
took over the rice stocks which the merchants had imported and sold the rice in rations at controlled
price.

Towards the end of the year ration cards were issued for cloth. The number of shops retailing
cloth was increased and each shop was provided with a quantity of cloth equivalent to the amount
required by the customers who were allocated to that shop. The system proved very successful and
prevented overcrowding though in the beginning some people rather resented having to buy from a
shop where they had not been customers in the past. Though overcrowding did not take place in
ordinary ration shops, any shop which was known to have received a consignment of new imported
goods, biscuits, woollen materials, jams, etc., was at once surrounded by a frantic mob most of whom
did not wish to buy the goods for their own use but in order to sell again in the Black Market. Fre­
quently police had to be sent to besieged shops to rescue the shopkeeper from hundreds of importunate
customers.
Black Market trading continued especially in certain kinds of piece-goods and many shop­
keepers set up shops in the women's quarters of their houses where materials were bought and sold.
The existence of the Black Market was due mainly to the lack of co-operation by the public who
except in a few instances failed to report cases of profiteering.

A strict control was exercised over the export of all types of goods from Bahrain and many
arrests were made by the Police and Customs officials in cases of attempted smuggling of piece-goods.
All the cases which were reported were successfully prosecuted in court.

Prices of some commodities were on the average slightly lower than in 1363 and in the case of
piece-goods there was a considerable drop in prices.