"ملف 8/16 تقارير استخباراتية بشأن البحرين" [و‎‎٢‎٠‎٠] (٤٣٢/٣٩٩)

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236 o
237
238
Food Supplies - Bahrain «
(i) During the period under report n smnll consignment
0 f flour ^nd sugar arrived for the Bahrain Petroleum Company e
Apart from this" no essential foodstuffs arrived either for
Bahrain or for Saudi Arabiao
(if) Bahrain already has stocks of tea sufficient to 1 st
for more than a year., bn November 1st another 981 c-ses
arrived from Bombay - representing about eight months loc
c onsumptionc
'1
(iii) Reports hnvc been received from merchants thot the
price in Kr.rachi of 'Bawli' rice (the type commonly consumed
in Bahrain end on the Trucial Coast) has been fixed by the
Controller there at Fs 56 per candy. Shippers say that they
cannot purchase this quality of rice at loss t..a
candy. V The Bahrain Government paid Fs 68 per candy for rice
which they purchased recently in Karachi. It is no ye " l0 '
what price other merchants '.re paying»
(iv) administration of the rationing system in respect of
flour, wheat and rice has, so far as Manama is concerned,
in the hands of the Bahrain Government Director of Customso
The combination of ineptitude -nd complacency which -that oxfici ...
has chronically exhibited in the performance of hio duties i
caused so much popular - and justified - irritation th'-t it has
become necessary to transfer the control of rationing m jon°m
to the Municipalityo
(v) In order to encourage market gardening and bring more
land under vegetable cultivation the Bahrain Government are
advancing ’taccavi 1 loans to approved applicants.
F ood 3uppl ies - Truci al Coasi„
Stocks of essential foodstuffs in Duboi and Sharjah
—g the prices of these foodstuffs, r 'P^rt>
are satisfactory, an
from sugar, are not unreasonably high
Stocks of tea, if
Iraq, would be sufficient
srest
they were not re-exported to Persia or Iraq, would be^suti
to last for many years. In view of the limita.i ;noun _ -
shipping space now available on Gulf steamers xt is of int
that during the month of October more th-n 300 tons of te.
arrived at Dubai by steamer from Bombay.
Food Supplies - Saudi A raMa.
(i) Disinterested persons acquainted with conditions on
the mainland s-y that, though food is very expensive there,
no real shortage exists. Poor people cannot afford to buy
rice or dates or flour at their present prices,_and are o-n-
sequently half-starved. Saudi officials inv.via y ^
th-Ta semi-starvation to the failure of supplies from In.^ea, _
but the real cause is undoubtedly the ever-increasing gap which
exists between the maximum price that the consumer c^n --
to pay for his food and the minimum.price at which he
■nnrch o so it. The high prices of rice and flour aio, ct -ou ,
Caused by the increased cost of purchasing and tr-nspor.ing
these commodities from India. The price of dates h o rio-
Abnormally because of the need of date growers and merchants
to supply" themselves with the means of purchasing imp-r e:
essential foodstuffs at their increased prices.
(ii) An attempt is being made to control food prices in
pnd « delegation of Bahrain merchants recently vioixo.
+ uot -it decided to restrict price control to rice, su 9 <. ?
flour and coffee. Details of the scheme are net yet avnx-ble.
239. Currency .