'File 27/4 Miscellaneous Trade Reports' [‎235r] (474/702)

Report on the Trade of Muscat for the year 1925-26
Introduction.
Muscat is the capital of the independent Sultanate
of that name situated at the easterly corner of Arabia.
Its seaboard is nearly 900 miles long and extends
from Tibbat on the west side of Cape Mussendam
round Ras Sajir rather over 200 miles due north of
the island Socotra, with the exception of a small
strip on the east coast of the Mussendam peninsula
from Dibbeh to Khor Khalba which is the adminis
tration of the minor Chiefs of Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. . The
Sultanate extends inland to the borders of the Great
Desert, but of late years the Omanis have become
virtually autonomous and are now more subject to
the Imam of Oman and his lieutenant Shaikh Isa
bin Saleh than to His Highness the Sultan of Muscat
and Oman. The interior is for the most part mounta-
nous the high country extending down to the sea
coast in a series of arid rocky heights though vegeta
tion exists on the higher mountains. North-west of
Muscat the sea coast littoral tract is fertile and pros
perous and date groves extend along it for over 100
miles. This strip is known as the Batineh Coast
and it is to here that the hillmen from Oman, finding
the struggle for existence too keen in the face of a
decreasing water supply, are gradually descending
and forcing out the date and fisher folk. The re
mainder of the coast with one notable exception is
barren and forbidding and rarely visited by Euro
peans. The exception is Dhofar which is the name
of a small fertile district comprising a group of
villages at the south-west corner of the Sultanate.
Gwadur, a port on the Mekran Coast, and a small tract
of country round it also owns allegiance to Muscat.
It is the last remnant of the Omani possessions on
the Persian side of the Gulf.
The town of Muscat, once so important and pros
perous, has been falling into decay for years now.
Most of the trade goes to the sister port of Mattrah
which is the starting point of the trade route to the
interior, but Muscat still remains the capital and
seat of Government.
Currency.
The currency of the country is the Maria Theresa
dollar and the copper coin minted in 1895 to the order
of His Highness the Sultan. In Muscat and Mattrah
Sovereigns, Indian currency notes and Indian rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
are generally accepted.
The Maria Theresa dollar fluctuates in value con
siderably, being affected by the world price of silver,
by the local demand in the date season, and by the
state of the Bahrain pearl market.
Trade accounts are kept in Mohamadis and Gajh
imaginary coins. There are two kinds of Mohamadis
«—black and white. Black 20^=1 dollar and white
111=1 dollar. The white is used in wholesale trade
accounts and the black for fruit, vegetables, etc.
Most Hundis from India show their face value in
Mohamadis and not in rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. .
20 Gajh . . . . .1 Mohamadi.
11£ Mohamadis . . . .1 Dollar.
100 „ .... 1 Toman 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. .
The average rate of monthly exchange between
the Maria Theresa dollar and the rupee varied from
Rs. 156-9 to Rs. 185*5 per 100 dollars, the lowest
being in March, 1926 and the highest in April, 1925.
The dollar rate fluctuated from Rs. 156-9 to
Rs. 185-5 per 100 dollars. It was lowest in March,
1926 and highest in April, 1925.
Weights and measures.
The weights used in the Customs Department are
prescribed in Muscat, Mattrah, and the Coast towns.
the weight of 6 dollars or
5-9375 ozs.
They are—
1 Kiyas
24 „ .
10 Maunds
200 „ . ,
Rice is sold by the
following measures :—
40 Palis
20 Farrahs .
. Muscat Maund. -
. Farasala.
. 1 Bahr.
bag ; other cereals by the
1 Farrah.
1 Khandi.
The rupee which weighs one tola, and the dollar of
which the weight is called “ Aukia ” are used for
weighing drugs and perfumes. One “ Aukia ” equals
eight “ Miskals.”
1 Shibr
4 Shibrs
4 Dliiras
Measures (Linear).
. . . . 1 Hand of 4J inches
. . . 1 Dhira or cubit.
. . . . 1 Ba’ or fathom.
Eanking.
There are no banks in Muscat. The system among
the merchants of issuing Hundis (drafts) is in practice
and as trade methods are primitive there are not
sufficient inducements for a bank to be established.