File 442/1907 'Persian Gulf: British and German shipping; German competition' [‎94v] (193/446)

freight for through transhipment to London and Hamburg, which would enable the
British lirm shipping to take a larger share of the trade than the half, to which they
are limited by the Is. preference rates accorded by the German line to their own agents,
in addition to lower freight rates. The market for shells has only been transferred o r
recent years from London to Hamburg, and a preferential treatment accorded by a
British shipping company to shells shipped to England might possibly conduce to these
being put on the foreign markets at cheaper rates than now.
Import of Sugar .—A third matter of great concern, in which purely commercial
measures do not seem to altogether meet the situation, is the annually increasmg import
of German, Austrian, and Belgian sugars, as against the Mauritius and Marseilles sugar,
which until recently formed the bulk of the trade. The following figures are the latest
available:—
Imported to—
Loaf.
Crystal.
Bushire
Bunder Abbas
Bahrein
Lingah
Mohammerah
Muscat
Koweit
Cwts.
98,033
37,255
962
7,233
28,405
20,
12,
Cwts.
39,504
24,951
f 8,137
< (average about
[_ 18,000 cwt.)
12,829
24,204
400
378
Out of the 98,033 cwts. of loaf sugar imported to Bushire in 1907-8 only
35,038 cwts. were of French origin—a large falling-off from the 41,097 and 109,753 cwts.
from France in 1905 and 1906-7, whilst 51,600 cwts. were reckoned to be sugar
exported from a Belgian refinery, and the balance was Hungarian sugar. The imports
to Bunder Abbas, Bahrein and Lingah are altogether composed of Belgian and Hun
garian sugars. Similarly, the import of crystal sugar to the Gulf is almost entirely
confined to Austrian E.A.R. crystals, which are exported from a depot in
Hamburg, with the exception of a brand S.P., which has been introduced from
Germany by Wonckhaus and Co. It will be remembered that the German consul at
Bagdad, in his report for 1906, alluded to the “brisk trade in Belgian sugar from
Antwerp which had been opened with the Gulf ports.” There seem to be signs that the
German steamer line is endeavouring to obtain the bulk of the carrying trade for
continental sugar (except French), and should the rumour that the Austrian Lloyd
intend to open up a connection with the Gulf prove true, the sugar business will be
likely to slip still more from British hands.
A re port on the sugar trade in the Gulf was sent to the Foreign Office in April
1908, and it w T as hoped that with this information, Messrs. Tate and Son would see
their way to send local shipments of their article to various Gulf ports. In May 1908
a European named Guays did present himself at Bushire on behalf of Messrs. Tate, and
inquired at the consulate-general whether a monopoly could be granted for the import
of their sugar to Koweit. This was hardly a feasible project, and the Sheikh of
Koweit refused to entertain it. Even if granted it would not appear to be likely to
assist the introduction of British sugar into the Persian ports where we want to see it.
Messrs. Tate’s representative strangely enough confined his inquiries to Bunder Abbas
and Koweit, and we trust that his rather perfunctory visit will not be the sum total
of their interest in this market.
Under the circumstances the Board of Trade might advisedly be asked to urge
Messrs. Tate to do something in the matter, and should the latter’s prices be too
prohibitive to compete with continental sugar, as appears likely, further to consider
whether some form of State interference would not be possible.
Falling irvo Hands of German Line. —Meantime, there is a large amount of
continental sugar being brought out to the Gulf in German steamers by British firms,
which need not so be brought if the British lines could be induced to call regularly both
at Antwerp and Hamburg and also at the smaller Gulf ports ; 5,049 bags at Moham-
merah, 5,100 bags and 820 cases at Bushire, 6,655 bags of soft and 1,307 bags of loaf
sugar at Lingah, 1,497 bags and 500 cases at Bunder Abbas, 3,797 bags and 1,460 cases
at Bahrein, 15,154 bags of crystal sugar and 27,841 cases and bags of loaf sugar at
Bussorah and Bagdad, representing a total of 69,200 packages, were brought by German