"مذكرة عن التجارة في الخليج الفارسي (قدمها مجلس التجارة)" [ظ‎‎٧‎٣] (٤/٢)

9
■which current reports from the men on the spot are most valuable. As regards those
ports in the Persian Gulf which are under British protectorate, the Foreign OtHce
Memorandum gives particulars in the section on Commerce only in respect of Bahrein.
The most recent figures for the trade of that port which the Board of Trade has been
able to obtain are those in respect of the year ending 31st March 1926, and according
to these figures, whereas the total imports into Bahrein in 1906 were Rs. 2,45,55,392,
in 1925-6 they were valued at £1,621,869 (£1,818,012 in previous 12 months).
As regards the distribution of this trade, India accounted for £1,210,223 and the
Arab coast for £209,784. Neither Russia nor Germany nor the United States of
America sent anything in that year, but in the previous year the imports from the
United States of America and Germany were £27,295 and £386 respectively ; the
figure for the United Kingdom was £27,723 (year before £11,079). The exports,
which consisted largely of re-exports to other places in Arabia and also in the shipment
•of pearls and specie to India, amounted to £1,15 1,777 as against Rs. 2,27,62,810 in
1906.
Shipping at Bahrein in 1925-6 was much on the same lines as in 1906. It was
all under the British flag (106) except for 7 German ships and 1 Greek ship. In
1906 there were 71 British ships, 1 German and 1 American. Similar overwhelming
predominance of British shipping is maintained at other ports—for example, at
Bunder Abbas in 1925 all shipping was British (123) except for 6 German and
1 French vessel, whereas in 1906 there were 7 German and 10 Russian vessels calling
at the port. At Lingah in 1925 all shipping was British (85) except 5 German vessels ;
.at Bushire in 1923-4 out of 169 vessels visiting the port 164 were British, 3 Japanese
and 2 Chinese as compared with a total of 168 in 1906, out of which 153 were British,
8 German and 5 Russian.
The complete development of the Persian Gulf economically must still, it seems,
most probably depend upon the provision of railway communication from the West
to the head of the Gulf either through the completion of the Bagdad Railway or,
which from some points of view would appear to present considerable advantages,
by the construction of a desert railway joining Bagdad to a Mediterranean port such
ns Haifa. Such a railway communication would develop a natural route for the
trade between the Middle East and India on the one hand and Central Europe or
Mediterranean countries on the other for relatively expensive goods which can afford
to pay railway charges as compared with shipping freights. Finally, now that
the political dangers associated with the Central Europe Drang nack Olden may
presumably be regarded as largely eliminated, and that British influence in Bagdad
is well established, the policy of the open door for the legitimate trade of all other
countries in the Persian Gulf can presumably be allowed full application in regard
to such railway developments, and also generally, it being left to British traders and
to the services which already exist, for aiding them to maintain and even improve
their own position and connections in those parts of the world.
(6) Koweit and Muscat.
The total trade of Koweit for the year ended 31st March 1925 was over
£1,000,000, divided between £496,000 imports and £547,000 exports, of which the
trade with India accounted for £373,000 imports and £298,000 exports, the rest
being with the Arab coast, Iraq and Persia. This level of trade was not maintained
in 1926 and 1927, and for the latter year (ended 31st March 1927) had fallen off to
£348,000 imports and £92,000 exports, the latter figure being so low owing to the
failure of the pearl fisheries, which had accounted for £189,000 in 1924-5. The
imports from India were made up chiefly of piece-goods, rice, tea and sugar. The
chief exports were of rice, sugar and piece-goods to other Persian Gulf ports by
mailing craft.
Of the shipping calling at Koweit during the year 1926-7 all the steamers except
one were British (84), the one exception being a German steamer. There was a great
deal of sailing vessel traffic at the port, including over 1,000 entrances and clearances
of both Iraqi (1,300) and Persian (1,200) craft.
The trade of Muscat during the years 1924-5, 1925-6 and 1926-7 reached the
following totals:—£613,000, £674,000 and £474,000 respectively, in which the
imports predominated, being generally twice the amount of exports. The trade is
almost wholly with India, the figures for 1926-7 being £290,000 imports from India
and £111,000 exports to India. The trade with the United Kingdom is small,
consisting in 1926-7 of £9,405 imports. The chief imports from India are rice,
cotton goods and coffee. The chief exports to that country are dates and dry sardines.