File 1283/1913 Pt 5 'MESOPOTAMIA TRADE Issue of new Trade Report' [‎102v] (200/270)

to the fact that the Arab has a keen appreciation of comfort and that his
standard^ of living is already rising. There should be a very good trade after
the war in domestic furniture and in articles of personal apparel both for
men and women.^ Tailors’ shops and drapery stores might expect to do
excellent business if they catered for native taste.
(3) The importance of British merchants strengthening their position by
more general trading, that is to say, by setting aside for a few years a portion
of their profits on piece-goods in order to develope the trade in Hardware and
fancy goods in which the Germans were gaining so much success.
Reference has already been made above to the importance of supplying
the class of goods which the country needs and not a more expensive article of
higher quality. It is necessary, however, to remember that it is almost
impossible for any one State or even Empire to endeavour to supply the whole
demand of a particular area for manufactured goods. Great Britain ought
at all hazards to retain the lead in supplying articles which are the special
product of British factories and should in return derive full advantage from
the resources of the country in which she trades in the shape of grain,°oil, etc.
iso State, however, can be a microcosm of industry and if British manufacturers
endeavour to outdistance their competitors in every single branch of supply,
they are likely to dissipate their energies and imperil their supremacy in more
unportant spheres. Eoreign goods will no doubt always find a market in the
rersian Gulf and it does not appear necessary to try and exclude them,
lercantile initiative may be trusted to decide what industries can properly
be monopolised and to take full advantage of natural resources and oppor
tunities so long as the foreign competing trade is not backed for political ends
by the unlimited resources of a powerful Government. No amount of admoni
tion by 1 rade Commissions or by Governments will induce merchants to embark
ypon enterprises which, however desirable from the political point of view,
uo not promise adequate returns for money invested, and that is why many
o le recommendations of the various Trade Commissions in Persia and the
. ln re g arc i to new lines of enterprise have produced no result whatever,
xjiitish manufacturers have in the past found it more to their profit to con-
centrate their energies on more expensive articles, but under changed
conditions after the war they may deem it advisable to alter their methods.
ie cart ful and systematic collection of information over a long period by a
Commercial Bureau in regard to subjects in which British trade is likely to
be interested will be of great assistance to local merchants.
ihe conditions obtaining during the Commissioners’ tour were not such
as to render it easy to gather any fresh information regarding the commercial
outlook before the war, and the course of trade since the war does not afford
much indication as to the probable openings when peace is restored. Cheap
goods will no doubt hold the field for some time, especially as regards China,
glassware, ironware, enamelware, paper and matches. There should be a very
large market for spades of the native pattern (mizhas) and cheap lanterns
and lamps are also in great demand. But when the purchasing power of the
people has been increased, the character of the demand is likelv to change
and a taste may be created for better quality articles in spite of the higher
price. The small shopkeeper is the best barometer of local demand and his
purchases should be carefully watched and, if possible, guided.
(4) The question of sugar. The Belgian sugar from Antwerp which
rapidly supplemented other competing varieties in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , supplied
the German traders with one of their most effective weapons of competition.
It is unnecessary here to refer at length to the history of the sugar trade in
the Gulf, which has been dealt with in many consular reports. If the
Belgian refinery regains its position after the war, the sugar will doubtless
be carried in British or French ships and certainly not in German vessels.
Ihe sugar question will therefore lose much of its importance. Egyptian and
Hongkong sugars, the latter imported by Japan, at present hold the market,
but there is no reason why British refined sugar should not possess at least a
half share in the Gulf sugar market if British firms could, see their way to put
down a small plant for canes. It is believed that the sugar refined in Hong- *
kong is by origin from Java or Mauritius and it is a matter for consideration