Coll 28/120 ‘Persia. Ahwaz – Consular diaries.’ [‎14r] (28/669)

4, Wheat
-T A ~\T
(iy
(a) The i. t’aa tion developed rapidly o I I< engthy dis
cussions took place between Mr. Squire, H.M„ Consul, and
Vice Consul, the Consular and Area Liaison Officers, and Messrs
Gass and Luard of the Anglo-Xranian Oil Company before Mr.
Squire 1 s interviews with K,E. the Minister of...the Interior
and the Ustandar. In spite of abortive attempts on the part
of the Minister to show that the scheme for acquiring land
lords' surpluses was inapplicable to Khuzistan, it was decided
to press forward energetically with the existing scheme even
if the price offered by the Government had to be raised. On
25th July instructions were received but never carried out
that the price of wheat supplied to the bakers was to be
increased from Rials 1202 to Rials 2153 per ton, with the
fixed retail price of bread with 25?' barley at Rials 5.per 3
kiloso The collection of wheat surpluses in the meantime had
been proceeding unsatisfactorily except in Ram Hormuz where
the local Director of Finance had seized by force the merchants'
considerable stocks and placed on them
n
that the stocks seized included their legal "personal
requirements" or seed corn. Elsewhere, the amounts collected
were merely stocks extorted from Arabs with the Amnieh’s
customary brutality and dishonesty (reports have even been
received of Arabs under duress buying wheat on the black
market to satisfy the Amnieh 5 s demands) or the result of face
saving gestures by the smaller merchants.
onus of showing
depend on
(b) The success of the whole scheme seemed likely to
a o 11 c n g a k: e n a. ga i n o
i •-w:*. T-v,
giar, the leading
landlord of the province who is de facto responsible for the
Security of the area bordering on
Kuhgalu. Previous in
formation had shown him to be in possession of some thousands
of tons of surplus wheat. The Minister of the Interior, after
an interview with Rais~ut-Tu t jar, expressed himself "satisfied*'
that Rais-ut-Tujjar jjossessed only 200 tons surplus. Cleardy,
if the most prominent land-owners in the province were allowed
to evade the law &e a result of satisfying the Minister, minor
land-owners would evade their obligations by satisfying lesser
officials. On 26th July, accordingly, the Governor-General
accompanied by Mr. Le Page, set off for Behbehan to ascertain
tthe truth about Rais-ut-Tujjar'a stocks. The Governor-General
was there apparently so intimidated by his surroundings that
he accepted the land-owners terms; Rais-ut-Tujjar was to
make ever at the Government price not even the 200 tons oi
which he satisfied the Minister of the Interior, but about
80 tons of grain which was about a third of the amount
Required by the military garrison at Behbehan; the town was to
be _supplied with wheat bought in the free market and Rais-ut-
Tu c 7 jar was virtually left free to dispose of his surpluses at
something about twice the Government rate. This development
was being discussed in Tehran at th e end of the month.
(c; At the end of the month it was decided that wheat
should be sold to the Ahwaz bakers at Rials 1650 per ton,
half the amount required to be supplied by the Economic
Department, and half to be bought by the bakers on the free
market. A scheme is also under consideration for the
establishment of a central bakery with a capital of Rials
400 ,000 of which a quarter will be subscribed by the
i&mieipality.
5. Sugar
The black :
19 but recovered to
movement is ascribed
.te for
h 1 ct a. S
'GO
u^d.x* Ju J- J.
at the end
ain hoarders
om Rials 24 to Rials
of the month. This
being forced to
unload/