Coll 30/9(2) 'Admin. Reports of the Persian Gulf - 1945 -' [‎442r] (883/1148)

Finance.
The average weekly demand for credit for Customs
clearance and forwarding charges increased hy almost 100#
e.g. Bials 3 f 000 f 000 as against Bials 1,500,000 in the previo
year. This, of course, is accounted for hy the •freeing* of
the various items of commercial goods to private merchants,-
such as sugar, tea, cotton, and piece goods. Local merchants
made some profit on sugar and tea speculations although the
up country merchants who are the original source of imports
of such goods enjoyed a much higher profit in these specula-
ti ons •
Interest rates were higher with the increased demand
for accommodation and shortage of cash. The Banque Mellie
Iran several times held up the issue of notes and was in
difficulty to meet local demands. They also restricted
credits to merchants on account of the uncertainty of the
political situation.
While crops were not so satisfactory as in the previous
year they would still have sufficed for the needs of the
people if the Government had not furthered the export of
considerable quantities of food grains by allowing it free
to Gulf ports. Owing to the scarcity of wheat in the north
of Iran due to its export to Germany in the first half of the
year, stocks of Bashire wheat were sent up country by the
Government monopoly. As a result there was a great shortage
of wheat in the southern ports, including Bushire. The supply
of wheat from India which took place in the months of October
to December relieved the position and the anxiety of the
population. But the supply of wheat to bakers remained
insufficient and wheat was as usual only available to the pub
lic in the form of bread.
Dates of the same kind as those exported last year
enjoyed a good market in India.
The autumn rainfall was slight especially in the
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