ملف رقم ١٢٨٣\١٩١٣ الجزء ٥ "التجارة في بلاد الرافدين، إصدار تقرير تجارة جديد" [و‎‎١‎١‎٤] (٢٧٠/٢٢٣)

49
APPENDIX No. I.
ANALYSIS OF MR. G. LLOYD'S REPORT, DATED 1908.
The following is an analysis of those portions of Mr. George Lloyd’s Report, dated 1908,
which have a bearing on the conditions and prospects of British trade in Mesopotamia after
the war.
The inlets for British trade into Mesopotamia and Eastern Asiatic Turkey are Basrah, Inlets f or British
Alexandretta and Trebizond. The parts of Mesopotamia, with which British commercial trade,
interests are most concerned, are those that are served by the Basrah trade inlet, that is to say
by the Persian Gulf route.
No proper Turkish customs statistics were maintained and the following figures, which foreign
were compiled from manifests and bills of lading, must not be regarded as exhaustively trade at
accurate. The total foreign trade at Basrah in the year 1906, imports and exports, was Basrah.
£3 155,000. Of the imports, which were £1,511,000, the local trade of Basrah accounted for
only about one quarter, as the bulk of the import business done in Basrah is in the agency
and forwarding line. Most Baghdad, Persian and Indian firms trading in Baghdad have
agents in Basrah, who consign their goods to Baghdad and take charge of outward shipments
when necessary. Of the exports, which were £1,644,000, thus exceeding imports, dates from
Basrah represented £436,500, barley £192,700, ghee £25,300, horses £43,500, liquorice £27,400,
opium £110,71)0, seeds £116,500, wheat £106,600 and wool £250,200.
The requirements of the inhabitants of Baghdad have hitherto been comparatively
limited, but its importance lies in the fact that it is a large collecting and distributing centre
for a very large area, which includes central and even northern Persia, Turkish Arabia, and a
vast tract of country undeveloped up to now but which already carries a large roving popula
tion, who have wants to be supplied and money wherewith to satisfy them.
The main trade routes from Baghdad are
(1) Baghdad to Mosul vid (ci) Kerkouk and Erbil and ($) Samarra and Tekrit, with an Branch routes from
extension to Sairt, Bitlis and Erzeroum. The greater part of the import trade Baghdad,
with Mosul and the whole of the export trade is done vid Baghdad. Mosul is
a large and important centre for the collection and sale of natural produce fiom
the rich country in the hills to the north of it. It is destined to increase in
importance and to make further demands on the resources of the country round
Bitlis, Van and Sairt. The best oil springs of Mesopotamia are within reach of
the Baghdad-Mosul route, which should also tap the grain produce from the
valleys and rich slopes of the Persian hills.
(2) The Baghdad-Khanikin route to Kermanshah.
Imports.
1905.
1916.
United Kingdom
£
607,335
£
725,321
India ....
74,855
86,262
Germany
200
115
France . . • •
109,918
147,641
Turkey ....
52,462
53,273
Belgium . .
673
1,666
120
38
Austria . . . •
Russia ....
”*148
Austria-Hungary
83
...
Total
745,674
1,014,336
This route carries a large volume
of trade, and numbers of pilgrims
(95,000 in 1905) travel by it,
bringing corpses, for burial, and
beasts of burden, carrying back
packages of merchandise from
Baghdad and the holy places. The
marginal table shows the imports to
Kermanshah for 1916, vid Khani
kin.
(3) Baghdad to Aleppo—the most direct trade route between Baghdad and the
Mediterranean and for Kerbala and Hillab. From 80,000 to 100,000 pilgrims
pass over this route every year.
In 1906, the total trade of Baghdad, including transit trade with Persia, amounted to
£2 705 000 of which exports were only £837,000. The main items of import to Baghdad from
Europe were cotton piece-goods and twist £874,700, sugar £347,100, hardware £66,500; and
from India, the Persian Gulf and China, gunnies £20,300, pepper £24,100, piece-goods
£46 200 silk £29,500, tea £24,100 and twist £42,100. The chief
America were wool £356,300, skins and hides £126,500, gum £84,700,
£32,500, wheat £29,600; and to India and China, dates £17,400,
wheat £23,600.
exports to Europe and
carpets £30,800, gall*
opium £67,600, and
Total trade of
Baghdad.