'File 2/15 Iraq coup d'etat and political situation in Iraq' [‎108r] (213/414)

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Ko* 19 ,
(285/3/42)
British Embassy,
Bagdad.
24th January, 1942
Sir,
Parliament reassembled on January 17th after an
adjournment of six weeks. At the first two meetings no
business was done as a quorum was not present. The
recess has passed quietly, and the principal matters of
concern has been the cost of living, the trial of
Rashid Ali and his associates, the interpretation of
certain Articles of the organic Law and the review of
Iraq’s position in the war.
2. prices of essential articles show little improvement.
Maximum prices for matches, tea, coffee, sugar, wheat and
barley and certain grades of cotton goods have been
fixed by the central supply B 0 ard but merchants are
generally selling only low quality stocks at the fixed
prices. T^e better quality is obtainable at a hi^ier
price by private arrangements. The price of the best
quality wheat was fixed early in January at.l«D.4o a ton
and the lowest quality (with 15^ of dirt) at i.d* 34. The ('Hi*.)
price of flour has however remained uncontrolled and has V
now exceeded I»d* 3 per loo kilos. This is a very high
price for the poor to pay. m Bagdad the Mayor endeavoured
to organise the sale of restricted quantities at a lower
price. He was obliged however to give up the experiment
as he found that without rationing it was impossible to
prevent abuses. He is now trying to organise adequate
supplies of controlled price bread instead, but is
confronted with the difficulty of having a stock of wheat
only big enou#i to last until the end of February.
A British expert is now helping the Iraqi authorities
to solve their supply and distribution problems but so
far as can be judged from the available information it
will be impossible to find enough grain to feed the
people in the towns unless a large quantity can be imported
from abroad. such supplies can only be obtained tfehough
the good offices of His Majesty’s Government and I have
in several telegrams represented to you, sir, the gravity
of the situation which will arise if wheat is not speedily
made available for this country. The people in villages
and settled tribal areas have generally speaking en 2 u s£
foodstuffs to keep them alive until the next harvest, but
in the towns there are thousands of families who had not
money enou#i to lay in supplies in advance for the winter
and
TH3 RIGHT HONOURABLE ANTHONY EDEN* M.C«, '• >
ETC •,
BTC* t
ETC.