File 1283/1913 Pt 5 'MESOPOTAMIA TRADE Issue of new Trade Report' [123v] (242/270)
The record is made up of 135 folios. It was created in 24 Nov 1919-27 Oct 1920. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
cones have only reappeared since the war, and are not liked. India cannot, of course, produce
sue-ar for Export for many years, chiefly owing to lack of up-to-date plant, the demand m
the country 1 and the difficulty of securing large and continuous supplies of raw material.
There would seem to be a larger opening in this trade for Britain than almost any other in
Persia With Mesopotamia open for great extension of trade after the war, the
the Gulf, will mount rapidly above 50,000 tons. It is no use trying to convert the Persian
taste to cubes • and British manufacturers, e.g., Messrs. Tate should be urged to put down a
smaU plant for cones, if possible before the end of the war, so that the trade formerly held
by Belgian and Hungarian cones can be taken over directly the war is finished. British
sugar refineries should have a British controlled
agency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
for all the Gulf region, which could
tour and develope central markets in Peisia. ^
Rnnar crustal. E. A. R. G. crystals can be competed with, on fairly level terms, by
Messrs.^Tate's Britannia crystals. Two facts, which should be capable of adjustment, militated
against the import not being heavier in 1912-1913: (a) Messrs. Tate could not allot a
large quantity for this market; {b) their refinery had no agent working specially lor orders.
Hongkong crystals have come to the front a great deal since the war, and Mauritius can
supply smaller grain qualities, which will command a sale against thetsmaller grain Continental
brands. The expensiveness oE Mauritius sugar, which was noted m 1904), is of less importance
than the yellowness of its colouring, and the small size of its crystals as compared with t e
acid-drop whiteness and large crystals of the Austrian and English refined article Probably
Indian refined cane sugar would have the same blemish in local eyes. British refined sugar
ought from these three sources manage to gain at least a half share, possibly more, m the
Gulf and Southern and Western Persia trade.
Matches— chief want is a British-made sulphur match. The Persian peasant, and a
large proportion of town people will not use safety matches. The
Residency
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India.
have made stray
attempts to obtain samples of cheap British matches, but, without personal enquiry and
pressure in England, it is in possible to say to what extent, if any British-made matches
could be got to compete with Swedish in this market. It is a question that needs thorough,
investigation and report, before any recommendation is possible.
Earthenware and china. Glassware and windowglass. Hardware, cutlery, enamelware’
Scissors. Aluminium and copper cooking and other vessels. Metal manufactures,
including spade heads, ploughshares, pails, Persian weights and measures and scales..
Haberdashery, needles, sewing machines and many other small articles.
There is a possibility of development in all these lines.
Medicines. —Messrs. Burroughs and Wellcome have interested themselves to no small
extent, but they need a direct representative to travel all over the towns of Ears and stock
shops/ They have already begun to print the descriptions and methods of taking their
drugs, and the extension of distribution of such medicines is in the interest of Southern
Persia. There are also numerous household remedies, which command a sale, e.g., fruitsalts,
c astor oil, etc.
Velvets and plushes .—Efforts should be made to substitute British articles for the
German-made cotton-silks, which have been imported, even by British firms, like Ziegler
& Co. Bradford is apparently the manufacturing centre for these goods in the United
Kingdom. Some arrangement could probably be made in the associations in Bradford by
Manchester firms interested in Persia to get British-made velvets and plushes on to the
Persian market (Central Persia is of the greatest importance) before the war ends.
Boots and shoes, patent-leather, and plain black and brown .—The firm oi Bostock at
Northampton has a great name in this part of Persia: and with organisation, the sale
could be increased, especially in Shiraz and other towns of Ears. The nomad tribes in
particular, are very fond of coming into market far booiweax. At present, stocks are very
short, and cheap Indian shoes are supplying the want to some extent. Price is not a.
great consideration ", high prices are paid as a rule. The women in Bushire, at least, are
discarding the Baghdad boot, for European-shaped shoes.
Fancy suitings .—There has been an increasing demand for these goods of recent years
the youth of the town, in particular, wearing European-cut trouserings. Germany supplied
a considerable portion of these goods, known locally as “ Fast uni/" The same remarks-
as to organisation of sales in up-country centres apply as in the case of boots and
underwear. Not only the well-to-do as formerly, but even the
coolies
A term used to describe labourers from a number of Asian countries, now considered derogatory.
and servants buy all
sorts of European articles and affect a semi-European style. The standard of luxury and,
living has risen much in the past eight years throughout the country and more particularly in
the towns.
Paper .—There is an opening for some firm or firms to- organise sales of cheap writing
paper, especially for merchants, and for printing and wrapping paper, Italy and Austria have
been competitors, through India to some extent. The consumption in Bushire itself is not
very extensive, but, worked together with Shiraz, Ispahan, Kerman, Arabistan and provincial
centres, there should be an opportunity for considerable sales.
About this item
- Content
Part 5 of the volume (folios 3-137) consists almost entirely of two extensive and successive government reports about trade conditions in Mesopotamia, following the end of the First World War (1914-1918) and the development of British commercial interests in the region. The later report, printed at the Government Press, Baghdad in 1920, is entitled Report on the conditions for trade in in Mesopotamia prepared in Office of the Civil Commissioner in Baghdad . It includes a communication map which outlines the region’s road and railway network. The earlier report, printed by the Government of India at Calcutta in 1919, is entitled The Prospects of British Trade in Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
- Extent and format
- 135 folios
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
File 1283/1913 Pt 5 'MESOPOTAMIA TRADE Issue of new Trade Report' [123v] (242/270), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/368/2, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100048209174.0x000034> [accessed 18 April 2024]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100048209174.0x000034
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100048209174.0x000034">File 1283/1913 Pt 5 'MESOPOTAMIA TRADE Issue of new Trade Report' [‎123v] (242/270)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100048209174.0x000034"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x000107/IOR_L_PS_10_368_0253.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000419.0x000107/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/10/368/2
- Title
- File 1283/1913 Pt 5 'MESOPOTAMIA TRADE Issue of new Trade Report'
- Pages
- 3r:137v
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence