خارجي ٣٢٩/ ٤٣ "شحن الغذاء إلى دول الخليج الفارسي" [ظ‎‎٢‎٣‎٢] (٨١٣/٤٦٤)

X
Company through their Agents in Sydney and with the concurrence of
M.W.T. The P.R. in his telegram No. 2438 of 20th December has
pointed out that no such cargo has arrived since July 1943 and has
asked that immediate action should be taken to revive them. We have
asked M.W.T. to look into this.
QUALITY OP SUPPLIES Prom the very start of the M.E.S.C.'s
arrangements it was found impossible to supply the States with rice.
Attempts to obtain rice from Iraq failed and what rice that could be
obtained from Egypthad to be diverted elsewhere principally Ceylon.
This though undoubtedly unpopular seems to have been accepted in
good grace and the chief complaint on the score of quality seems to
have been directed against the Iraqi barley which has been sent to
the States to adulterate the wheat flour. The necessity for this
was mainly due to the shortage of wheat supplies in the Gulf, but I
find in Savingram Hides 54 of 9th June M.E.S.C. J state that barley and
millet from Iraq were originally provided to meet the P.R.’s complaint
that flour alone was unsuitable for the Arab States and that a
proportion of roughage nmst be provided either in the form of wheat
in grain or as barley and millet. * ' ' ’
However that may be, the P.R. has consistently objected to the
supply of barley which he describes in his telegram T.1200 of 26th
November as being formerly sold for pig food. In his telegram
No. f284 of 3rd June the P.R. complained that Saudi Arabia was better
treated than the States in this respect, and from a recent Savingram
from the M.E.S.C. (No. 5110 of 21st December) it appears that Eastern
Saudi Arabia, has refused point blank to take the barley and that the
M.S.S.C. have agreed to a tempora ry compromise whereby We ster n Saud i J
Arabia takes more than its shared They fear, - however, T^liaTf this * ^
compromise may raise difficulties with the Arab States and have asked
for^definite directive in the matter. I have told M.W.T. that we feel
very strongly that the M.E.S.C. should be asked to abandon the
compromise solution. . . ....
PRICE The P.R. objected in his telegram No. 1284 of 3rd June to
the exorbitant price demanded for the Iraqi barley, the price of
which he contrasted with that of the far more palAtable Indian wheat.
He asked that the barley might be sold to the States at the price of
Indian wheat, the difference being met by H.M.G. He was supported in
this request by both the Government of India and the Minister of
State/