ملف رقم ١٢٨٣\١٩١٣ الجزء ٥ "التجارة في بلاد الرافدين، إصدار تقرير تجارة جديد" [ظ‎‎١‎١] (٢٧٠/١٨)

398
THE
board of trade j ournal.
September 30, 1920.
SPECIAL ARTICLES-continued.
'The Port was constructed in order that militaiy °I > 0^
ions mlghT be carried on effectively, and now rema-
ior the purpose of commerce. There ^ ^7oml
■railway lines, (chiefly of metre gauge). Shargat towards
the north, the Persian frontier to the
in the south are all now connected with Bagh _ y
rail. Roads have been improved until many of them
can carry light motor traffic and some few will bear
motor lorries. So far, at least, as communications are
concerned, the war has wrought a very great and bene
ficial change in Mesopotamia.
Customs Administration.
Duty is collected on imports and exports at Basra
and at Baghdad, the dutiable importations at Baghdad
being restricted to goods on a through bill of lading.
The principal land Customs frontier stations are near
Khanigin on the Persian frontier, Mosul and Sulai-
maniyah. Sea Customs are levied in accordance with^
the Indian Sea Customs Act, as applied by adaptation
to Mesopotamia, and the land Customs under the Land
Customs Proclamation. There is ample provision of
public bonded warehouses and free shipment from
vessel to vessel is permitted at Basra free^ of duty.
Goods manifested for transhipment to foreign ports
are allowed to be landed in the course of transhipment
without payment of duty or transit fees.
The regulations governing the admission into Meso
potamia of samples and patterns brought by commercial
travellers are practically the same as those in force
in India.
Weights and Measures.
Two weights are widely known, though there is
great diversity in the use of weights. The people are
most familiar with the Constantinople oke (2-8282 lb.)
and the kilogram, the oke being more nearly universal
for the higher weights. Steps have been taken with
a view to the ultimate standardisation of the oke, though
the reform will take a long time to effect. The scales
used are crude: there is a considerable opening for a
simple and cheap weighing apparatus. The steelyards
of the wholesale merchants are calibrated in okes.
The difficulty of standardising terms of weight may
be seen from the diversity in use of the “ Maund. ”
A maund of dates in one part of Basra is 54 okes, in
other parts of Basra 60 okes, a maund of coffee is
50 okes, of soap 6 okes, of sugar 10 okes, of tobacco
70 okes, and of pepper 11 okes. Here we have the oke
constant at 2-82821b., but the maund with seven
different usages.
Both the metre and the English yard are well known
in Basra, Baghdad and Mosul; but there are many
other “ yards ” in use, and for the present no attempt
is being made to lay down a universal standard of
length.
Currency.
The complex pre-war currency of Irak (Lower Meso
potamia) has been simplified by the introduction dur
ing the war of rupees (silver and notes). The rupee
has now become established as the principal medium
of exchange, the only other currency in the field being
the gold lira. No statutory legal tender exists, but
the rupee has already the sanction of usage. The gold
lira is not as a rule accepted by the Government or
the banks, except as bullion, and its value has fluctu-
ated violently. Some uncertainty no doubt exists as
to the future position of the lira (both paper and gold),
but there is a sufficient quantity of rupees and small
change (in the shape of half and quarter rupees, and
• nickel and copper subdivisions of the rupee) in circula
tion to meet ordinary trade requirements, and the only
practical disadvantage to business arising from the un
certainty as to the lira is in connection with the valua
tion of existing stocks.
Foreign Exchange.
The principal foreign rates of exchange quoted in the
Baghdad and Basra markets are:—
(a) Rates for Rs. 100 for Kran bills on Kirmanshah,
" Hamadan, etc.
,;V : ; ’(b) Rates per £100 for Sterling bills on London.
SPECIAL ARTICLES— continued.
The rates for Kran bills are directly influenced from
day to day by the activity of the Imperial Bank of
Persia in its Kran-Sterling transactions between
Teheran and London, although the larger changes are
partly seasonal, depending upon the requirement for
financing the crops in Persia, and partly attnhgable
to causes ranging over long periods, dependingFV
ately upon the sterling price of silver; the rate has
varied from less than 200 to more than 400. The Sterling
exchange is mainly influenced by the current Bombay-
London rates and the freedom with which the Irak
Government is able to sell rupee telegraphic transfers
on India.
During the military operations imports were natur
ally much in excess of exports by sea. The banks
have been assisted to find “ cover” for the difference
by Government sales of telegraphic transfers on Bom
bay, Karachi and Calcutta, at par, up to the limit of the
requirements of funds for military purposes. Until
near the close of the financial year 1918-19 Govern-
ment was able to meet trade needs in full, owing to
the heavy local military demands for funds. In April,
1919, however, when military requirements showed
some diminution, it became necessary to “ ration ” the
sale of transfers for a few months; and this occurred
again in the spring of 1920, when the banks were
obliged to export notes in considerable quantities to
India, though for a short time the opposite was the
case, when the banks refrained almost entirely from
tendering for transfers, thus compelling the Govern
ment to meet military demands for funds by drawing
from the Currency Chest, and, on occasion, importing
specie from India. During the financial year ended
31st March, 1920, the monthly sales of transfers on
India totalled Rs. 9,82,06,000, varying from Es.
40,50,000 in June, 1919, to Rs. 1,24,48,000 in
December, 1919, with Rs. 94,48,000 as the total for
the final month of the official year, compared with
Rs. 79,50,000 in February.
Financing Trade.
Importers and exporters finance themselves in two
ways:—
(a) Those who have their own firms abroad (or
have the requisite credit) who ship to them or to
whom they ship sending the documents direct and
making or receiving remittances as separate trans
actions through the banks or by adjustments in
the current accounts.
(b) Those who do business by sending their
documents through the bank or a financial house
for collection.
Goods are purchased in Mesopotamia by means of
promissory notes (compialas), giving at most three or
four months credit—formerly the period was from four
to six months. The practice of renewing compialas
at the due date is said to have deased, and only such
compialas as can be discounted are acceptable.
Branches in Mesopotamia have been established by the
Eastern Bank of London, the Imperial Bank of Persia,
and the Imperial Ottoman Bank.
FOREIGN TRADE.
During the last two years there has been a marked
increase in the imports into Mesopotamia. In 1919
the goods coming through Basra w r ere valued at 1,399
lakhs of rupees (100,000) against 1,110 lakhs in 1919,
and 398 lakhs in 1912. The total import trade for
1919, including land imports into Baghdad, was
valued at 1,840 lakhs. The increased importation of
foreign goods into the country has been due partly to
the presence of troops and the depletion of stocks under
war conditions, and largely to the almost complete
cessation of imports into Persia via the Caucasus. It
is estimated that from one-half to three-quarters of the
goods imported by sea eventually find their way kd 0
Persia, and it cannot therefore be emphasised too much
that the trade of Mesopotamia is closely allied with
that of Persia, or with that portion of Persia which can
be reached easily by way of Baghdad. Thosei who see^
1 /