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File 234/1917 'Muscat trade reports. (1911-1924)' [‎105r] (218/428)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (210 folios). It was created in 13 Apr 1912-25 Mar 1925. 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. .

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to "be expected. Arms in large quantities were openly
imported and were smuggled out again. Their value
“^appeared in the returo of imports, but not amongst
"the exports. This year, however, arms and ammuni
tion have altogether vanished from the returns. So
the reason must be sought elsewhere. It is true that
the Sultan’s Customs imposes an import duty and
keeps record of imports, while, in the absence of any
export duty, it does not take the same account of ex
ports. But in Muscat one agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. , Messrs. To well and
Co., represents all the steamer lines which call, and
this firm is good enough to give full information to
the Consulate. So far then as goods conveyed by
steamer are concerned, there is no ground for believ
ing the export figures to be more incomplete than the
imports. For it is only from Muscat that goods are
shipped by steamer. It is now six years since the
practice was introduced of recording steamer-borne
traffic separately from wares conveyed by sailing
vessel. In every year save one—1911-12—during
this period the deficiency of steamer-borne exports,
as compared with steamer-borne imports, has been as
large as, or larger than, the gross deficiency. From
this it would seem, either that the exports and im
ports do not balance, which is unlikely, or that the
explanation of the discrej ancy must be sought in the
incompleteness of the record of the sailing vessel-
borne trade. And this is in itself intrinsically pro
bable. For, as we have seen, the Customs does not
record this export traffic, and only so much of it is
shown as is carried on dhows owned by British sub
jects, who'-e articles are deposited in the Consulate.
Moreover, Muscat is a distributing centre from which
much that comes in by steamer would naturally go
out again by boat. Lastly, the data which are on
record about the sailing vessel trade seem to imply
incompleteness. For example, practically the whole
of this traffic is shown as to or from India. But as
a matter of fact there is a very considerable wind-
borne commerce between Muscat on the one hand,
and the ports of Mekran, the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and
Zanzibar on the other. The whole of this apparent
ly goes unrecorded.
Trade went from bad to worse this year. The
total volume of registered traffic shrank from
Rs 90 38,270 in 1914-15 to Rs. 64,67,741 this year, a
decline of nearly 29 per cent. Owing to the war
and the consequent shortage of shipping and high
freights the steamer-borne trade diminished even
more markedly than in the previous year, while
although wind-borne traffic nearly doubled, the total
amount of this still falls a good deal short of the
steamer trade. A comparison of figures of quantity
with those of value shows that fluctuation of prices
had some effect on the totals. All the chief articles
of import, except coffee, declined in price. Amongst
exports, dates fell, while Muscat fabrics showed a
large increase. But, even when allowance has been
made for these variations, the falling off m trade,
both export and import, remains serious. The chiet
causes are the effects of the European war on ship
ping and markets and the disturbances m the interior
of Oman.
Shares of Trade.
The following table shows the portion of the total
trade of Muscat taken by different countries. As
usual, the lion’s share has fallen to India. This pre
ponderance is partly genuine and natural, and partly
unreal. The statistics of trade with India are more
carefully kept than those of trade with some other
countries, such as Persia, a good deal of which
escapes unregistered. On the other hand the Indian
figures include all goods which Muscat receives or
despatches vid an Indian port. For example, there
are seven brands of matches now on sale in Muscat.
Three of these are of Austrian origin (exported pre
sumably before the war), two Japanese, one Swedish
and one Norwegian. All alike, having been received
here from Bombay, are bbown under tbe figures of
Indian trade.
Table.
Country.
Imports.
Exports.
Total.
Percent
age of the
whole.
Rs.
Rs.
Rs.
Aden .
1,24,990
...
1,24,990
1-93
Arab Coast
41,300
1,74,882
2,16,182
3'34
France
1,052
...
1,052
002
Germany . .
India .
30,95,462
21,18,619
52,14,081
• ••
80-63
Persia . •
44,053
72,831
1,16,884
1-78
Sweden
46,500
...
4-,500
0-72
*Shatt-al-Arab .
425
13,493
13,918
0-22
United Kingdom .
87,943
...
87,943
1-36
United States of
America.
2,62,900
2,62,900
4-07
Zanzibar
..4
1,65,350
1,65,350
2-56
Other Countries
2,03,187
14,754
2,17,941
3-37
Total Rs.
36,44,912
28,22,829
64,67,741
100-00
Figures for last
year
49,14,177
41,24,093
90,38,270
* Substituted for Turkey in Asia.
What has been said above shows how misleading
these figures a re, and explains why Japan does not
appear at all, while Great Britain and the United
States have by no means their proper place. The
decline in steamer-borne trade with Persia is very
marked. This is the very trade most likely to suffer
from a shortage of steamers in the Gulf, but,
no doubt, an unrecorded increase in the sailing
vessel traffic has to some extent compensated for the
falling-off.

About this item

Content

The volume contains copies of the annual trade report on the trade and commerce of Muscat [Muscat and Oman] for the years 1911-12 to 1923-24 inclusive (except 1917-18 and 1920-21). The reports were prepared by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. and HBM's Consul, Muscat, and forwarded to the Government of India.

Each report includes an introduction giving general information concerning the state, and summaries of imports and exports; statistical tables of imports and exports, subdivided into principal commodities, and countries imported from/exported to; and returns of shipping. Principal imports include arms and ammunition, cereals, paints and colours, precious stones and metals, provisions, textile fabrics, tobacco, and miscellaneous; principal exports include cereals, fish, fruits, paints and colours, provisions, cotton goods, tobacco, and miscellaneous. The reports show some manuscript annotations, and the volume also contains some minutes and correspondence.

The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references contained by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (210 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume. The subject 234 (Muscat Trade Reports) consists of one volume only.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 207; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the leading and ending flyleaves.

Written in
English in Latin script
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File 234/1917 'Muscat trade reports. (1911-1924)' [‎105r] (218/428), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/647, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100070081660.0x000013> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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