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‘File 29/21 - III FOOD SUPPLY RICE’ [‎15r] (29/720)

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The record is made up of 1 file (358 folios). It was created in 30 May 1948-26 Sep 1949. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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Copy of express letter No. R/91-29/l| d^ted the 3rd
June, 1948. from Political. Bahrain, to Prodrome. Bahrain.
We shall be faced with a food crisis in Bahrain 9 If
early steps are not taken to meet the present situation.
2. The original cereal quota for Bahrain was fixed at
900 tons (wheat 630 and barley 270) • In October 1943 on a
representation by the Bahrain Government that this was not
sufficient. It was Increased to 1000 tons (wheat 670 and
barley 330;• In June 1945 the Bahrain Government* said that
Its merchants could make private arrangement s to import
barley and the barley quota was then given up leaving the
wheat quota at 670 tons. In February 1946 the wheat allotment
was fixed at 710 tons per month 9 the total quota being at
1020 tons per month (which included 310 tons of barley
Imported under private arrangements)•
3. This quota did well enough when the ration could be
supplemented by local purchase In the free market 9 but since
the Persians have prohibited exports 9 this market no longer
exists. Furthermore, the quota was originally fixed on the
census figures of 1938 which gave the population for the
purpose of rationing as 90,000 and ration cards were Issued
for this number In 1940. Now they are Issued to 105,000
people. As a result the previous ration of 20 lbs. per head
per month had In November 1947 to be reduced to 14 lbs. per
head per month In the town and 16 lbs. per head per month
In the villages.
4. The present population made the figure of 710 tons
Inadequate to supply the country's needs even on the under*
standing that ration was supplemented by local purchases
to the extent that the Government Itself had to purchase
wheat to supplement the Ministry of Food quota and It Issued
an average of 954 tons of wheat per month, In 1947.
5. The Ministry of Food's wheat quotas for Bahrain for the
months of April and May are In arrears.
6. To meet the situation the Bahrain Government's requests
ares
1) that the arrears of the wheat quota for
the months of April, May and June be
delivered forthwith; and
that the barley quota of 310 tons surrendered
should be restored and, If possible, rice or
wheat to that amount In that order of preference
be delivered.
2 )

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Content

The file contains correspondence about arrangements for the purchase and shipping of rice imports mainly from African and South American countries, for consumption in Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai, Sharjah and other Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. shaikhdoms, where rice and other cereals continued to be in scarce supply after the Second World War (1939-1945). The file consists mainly of letters from Bahrain and Dubai merchants, or from the Imperial Bank of Iran and the Eastern Bank Limited on their behalf, also from the local manager of the Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited on behalf of oil company personnel, asking the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrain to permit them foreign currency exchange facilities for the purchase of rice from Brazil and other non-Sterling countries. Also included in the file are the Political Agent’s responses, including importation recommendation certificates and letters to their banks, approving the release of sterling for the opening of letters of credit and hard currency payments to exporters.

The file also contains the successful bids made to the International Emergency Food Committee (IEFC), Washington by the British Government on behalf of Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai and the other Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. shaikhdoms, for a share in the 1949 Middle East rice allocations. In relation to this matter there is the correspondence of the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrain with the Rulers of Bahrain, Qatar and Dubai and also with British officials at the Ministry of Food and the Foreign Office in London. In this correspondence, they discuss reducing existing wheat quota imports for Bahrain, Qatar and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. shaikhdoms in favour of increased rice quota imports, the arrangements for the local storage and stock management of the IEFC allocated Egyptian rice by British Ministry of Food officials in Cairo, the appointment of approved purchasing and shipping agents by the Bahrain and Dubai authorities to act for them and for their merchants with regard to orders, payments and deliveries of the IEFC allocated Egyptian quota rice by sea to Bahrain, Qatar and Dubai.

Extent and format
1 file (358 folios)
Arrangement

Files papers are arranged more or less chronologically.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 360; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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‘File 29/21 - III FOOD SUPPLY RICE’ [‎15r] (29/720), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/779, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026189801.0x00001e> [accessed 14 May 2024]

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