'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III. PART II: L to Z' [‎31v] (67/988)

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of official harassment have at length enabled to compete with Lingeh Upon
favourable terms.
It is estimated that goods imported direct at Dibai can be sold there
10 per cent cheaper than similar goods imported through Lingeh. To
save themselves from utter ruin most of the leading merchants of Lingeh
have established agencies in Trucial 'Oman by means of which they hope to
retain a part of their former business.
It seems probable that unless the Persian Grovernment takes steps to
remove the causes of this decline Lingeh will shortly be reduced to the
position of a merely local port. The tract of which the trade is naturally
dependent on Lingeh lies to the north-west of it, including Bastak and
Lar, and not extending beyond Jehrum, a distance of little over 150 miles.
The actual number of shops in Lingeh is 445 and of other business premises
28; about 250 of the shops sell cloth and 250 provisions.
Exports from Lingeh by sea consist of carpets, rose-buds, flax-seed,
tobacco, gum-tragacanth, gum-arabic, asafoetida and a little diied fruit
from Jehrum, Ishkanan, Taraikmeh arid Gallelidar ; they are shipped chiefly
to Indian and Turkish ports, but some of the asafcetida, gum-tragacanth
and gum-arabic goes direct to the United Kingdom. Mother-of-peai 1 shells
are despatched to London and Hamburg, as well as to India. Imports,
except a certain quantity of piece-goods which is received direct from
England and Germany, are all from India; the principal are rice, wheat,
barley, gli, sugar, loaf-sugar, sugar-candy, spices, linen, silk and cloth of
all sorts-
It is not generally realised how large a proportion of the trade of Lingeh
is taken by India. From the last consular report it appears that India
supplied 75 per cent of the imports, phis 13 per cent shown as emanating
from 'Oman, and took 48 per cent of the exports, though the latter con
sisted almost entirely of pearls and specie. The report in question deals
with the year 1911-12, and the effect of the prevailing anarchy in Southern
Persia may be traced in the almost complete stagnation of trade with the
interior. Trade is now practically confined to Lingeh itself and outlying
villages on the coast, Dibai on the Arab coast and 'Oman. Lingeh is for
tunate in having these outlets where the robber and the almost equally
extortionate road guard cannot pursue their nefarious trade, and the result is
seen in a small improvement in the trade figures for the year, imports having-
increased by nearly £40,000 since the preceding year. The merchants
of Lingeh, however, do not view the situation with equanimity, and many
of these are taking to illicit traffic in rifles, coffee and tea, and the British
Consul (Mr. R. H. New) suggests that they devote some of the profits of
this smuggling to ordinary trade for the sake of appearances and prestige
thereby helping to increase the volume of imports. The Customs officers
appear quite powerless to check smuggling. They maintain a steam
launch for patrolling purposes, but this one vessel cannot pretend to main
tain an efficient guard over 250 miles of coast. Coffee offers a very favour
able field for the smugglers' operations. The consumption among the
Arab section of the population is considerable, amounting to 18 or 20
tons per annum, and practically the whole of this amount must be smug
gled into the country. The only import of coffee recorded in the Customs