'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎148r] (300/610)

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was roughly | the value of the imports from Russia, and of the
exports from Persia to the British Empire -i the value of the
exports to Russia.
/
From its geographical position this North-Western area
became the greatest centre of Russo-Persian commerce, and the
base for Russian political and commercial penetration into
Persia.
The trade of Gilan and Mazandaran, with commercial
■centres at Rasht and Barfarush was entirely Russian and these
provinces became economically dependent on Russia, of Kazvin
and Tehran chiefly Russian, and only in the Hamadan region
was Great Britain able to maintain competition.
The Russian revolution had by the end of 1917 caused a Effect of the
stagnation of this trade which shifted to the 1 Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Evolution on
routes to the advantage of Great Britain, who was left with no trade, and trade
serious competitor. in
Imports were all supplied through the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ports and
British goods during 1919 were even forwarded on from Enzali
to Transcaspia and to the Caucasus.
The products of the Caspian provinces, however, rice, cotton,
oranges, and timber, especially of Mazandaran owing to the
great distance and impracticability of export on a large scale by
the difficult mule tracks across the Elburz, can find no outlet
and remain unsold so that these provinces are passing through
a period of acute depression. The accumulation of unsaleable
stock and the depreciation of the rouble caused numerous
bankruptcies among merchants.
The price of British goods on reaching this area by the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. routes is excessive owing to the enormous trans
port charges. The increase in the volume of trade through
these ports has been accompanied by a decrease in the amount
of pack transport available to carry it and the cost of trans
port has been hugely inflated.
It is also subject to extreme fluctuation, for instance, the
rates from Ahwaz to Tehran have recently varied between
a minimum of £60 and a maximum of £192 per ton with an
average of £93, from Baghdad to Tehran between a minimum
of £59 and a maximum of £171 with an average of £101 per ton.
1 Since the British occupation of Baghdad, the Baghdad-Kirmanshah line
has become the most important of them.
bankruptcies V6ry SCarC6 ^ the depreciation of the rouble has caused many
a The decrease is due to idle death of animals during the famine of 1918 and the
diversion of transport from its normal work to meet the requirements of the British
orces m North, East, and South Persia.