"ملف 12/15 جولة الوكيل السياسي" [ظ‎‎١‎٨‎٦] (٤٦٩/٣٧٢)

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down a number of date palms; and there was a lot of
movement and bustle at the port,where boats were being
c _
loaded with lucerne for Bahrain and salug (dates boiled
when immature) and dibs (date juicej/. (I was told that
the embargo on the export of dates from Oatif did not apply
( ) c '
to salug and dibs).
6. The Amir of A1 Khobar was present -wh4^_e his brother,
ftijL. Z£r
the Amir of Qatif, waa antertia-ining tea. In accordance
with a suggestion which I had previously made to Mr. Chliger
the conversation was directed by him to the subject of food-
supplies. The Amirs of A1 Khobar and Oatif, who are reported
to have made large fortunes during the last six months by the
part they have taken in manipufiting food prices, displayed
no embarrassment in discussing the subject. They^stated
[ucslL
that they have recently been instructed by ibn Saud to make
a census of stocks of food and that there were, apart/^bom
Government stocks, 8000 bags of rice in Oatif and 15000 bags
in Hofuf. They also stated that they had received orders the
previous day that the selling price of rice and dates was to
be controlled. Maximum selling prices were to be as follows:
Calcutta Bice
Karachi nice
Dates
Rs 39/- per bag;
Rs 33/- per bag;
Rs 3/- per basket.
If merchants claimed that their stocks of rice had cost
more than the selling price now fixed the Saudi Government
would, on production of the merchants’ invoices, take over
their stocks at the cost price and would placfc them on the
market at the new controlled price.
7. In the course of conversation «any references were
made to the failure of this year's crop of wheat sown with
faJ-
Canadian wheat^. It will be recalled that 3000 bags of
Canadian wheat were lent to the Saudi Government by the
Shaikh of Bahrain in October 1942 when, we were told, there
was no grain in Eastern Saudi Arabia and the people were
dying of starvation. Apparently the Canadian wheat intended
for immediate consumption in Saudi Arabia was used as seed