'Lord Curzon's Notes on Persia' [‎539v] (1080/1386)

Tea.
18
Why should we import any refined sugar from the United Kingdom into Bombay
when we export refined sugar to the United Kingdom from Bengal and Madras ?
Why also should we export sugar to Ceylon from those Presidencies and receive
sugar from Ceylon into Bombay ? It would be interesting to learn the causes
of these features of the sugar trade in India. If they were known and discussed
they would perhaps disappear and India cease to be an importer of an article
which she produces in abundance herself.
The conditions under which an extensive import of tea is carried on are
not dissimilar to those under which sugar is imported. We produce tea and
export it in large quantities, and we import considerable quantities of which a
portion is re-exported, the rest being consumed in the country. Last year we
imported about 5,383,000 lbs., value for R3, 637,000, a larger quantity than
has ever been imported before. It came from China, the Straits, Ceylon, and
Java, and some of it was re-exported (1,849,429 lbs.) by sea, mainly to Persia.
Some portion also was re-exported by land to Afghanistan. The rest was con
sumed in the country.
Ill .—Metals, manufactured and unmanufactured, including machinery and
millwork and railway material:
Value in Rs.
(000’s omitted).
85-532
/ 83,611
107,848
99,663
110,589
Copper and zinc. The most prominent feature of the year’s trade in this group was the
prompt return of activity in the importation of copper following on the fall of
price which ensued on the collapse of the “ corner” established by the Societe
des metaux. As soon as prices were raised abnormally by the operations of
that ring, importations fell off and indeed were almost completely suspended :
as soon as prices fell importations recommenced on a large scale. The follow
ing are the quantities imported in each of the last five years :
Cwt.
1885-86 . . 652,973
1886-8/ • • 615,049
1887-88 . . 532,635
1888-89 • • 98,490
1889-90 . . 568,915
The demand was even smaller than would seem from the imports of
1888-89, for in the previous year India had re-exported, to take advantage of the
rise in price, the unusually large quantity of 47,000 cwt. Zinc followed much
the same course as copper, in conjunction with which it is used in India.
Iron and steel. In the same way, though not to anything like the same extent, the recent
rise in prices has caused a restriction of consumption of iron and steel, apparent
mainly in bars, nails and screws, beams, pillars, girders, and bridgework. The
total imports of iron have been as follows, shewing a reduction of 16 per cent