'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [‎197] (206/568)

COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
197
, ' " i imports being about 55 per cent, of the whole. Mosul had a total
J trade of between ^ and ^ million, the value of the exports being
times that of the imports.
The trade of Arabistan," exclusive of the import of plant and
' |,ls ia material for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, was about £850,000
; teil in value. Imports made up about 59 per cent, of this sum.
The value of the trade of Mesopotamia was on the whole rising in
■ % spite of considerable fluctuations. Thus in the ten years 1904-13
■ the trade of Baghdad had increased by about 50 per cent., that of
Basra perhaps by about 75 per cent., that of Diarbekr by about
ssedonltt 27 per cent. In the trade of Mosul there does not seem to have
iarWmi been any marked general tendency towards an increase or decrease.
tDtofimn The trade of Arabistan had more than doubled in five years; this
'Imik increase was due partly to the transfer (owing to political disturbances)
Jmoliii of much Persian trade from the Bushire—Shiraz road to the Ahwaz—
s of Mi Isfahan route, partly to the development of the oilfield in northern
Arabistan.
Though it is to be remembered that the growth of the trade in
to tie P® these markets is largely to be accounted for by the expansion of the
kdfti commerce with Persia passing through them, it appears that the
Idle purchasing power and wants of the local population were on the whole
V i : increasing, especially in Irak and Arabistan. As customers the
i jjjd natives displayed, as was to be expected, a tendency to take cheap
inWffl* inferior goods in preference to better but more expensive articles,
as well as a readiness to be impressed by tawdry colour and ornamen-
.jmud tation, and an attachment to familiar appearances and trade-marks.
The principal circumstances determining the fluctuations in the
jj 1?1 trade of the country (apart from the state of markets in Europe and
America) were conditions in Persia, and the local agricultural and
r jj. pastoral production. The varying amount of insecurity on the
" Lj Persian trade-routes, and the unsettled condition of Persia generally,
1)6 . m , reacted seriously on the Baghdad market. Again, a bad harvest in
, |M ' Mesopotamia, due to insufficient rainfall, excessive or insufficient
'floods, &c., might cause a very marked general depression in trade.
P" ' 'i Drought or inclement weather destructive to live stock in the Meso-
potamian plains might have some effect in the same direction. Other
I disturbing factors were outbreaks of disorder in Mesopotamia and
rerl Arabistan, the unstable currency, and speculative operations by local
^ merchants.
A standing impediment to commerce was the inadequacy of means
of transport and of storing goods. The insufficiency of steamer
b-i: transport and the difficulties of navigation on the river-route between
itr.: 8 "'' Basra and Baghdad caused much delay and damage to merchandise;