22 and Greece, It may be noted that the value of the revived import trade with Palestine was £E. 744,902, a large part of which represents soap, fruit and olive oil. Imports from Chile, which are chiefly chemical manure, increased from £E, 77,965 to £E. 1,098,055. Imports from Japan have decreased from £E. 2,533,967 to £E. 1,729,164, owing to a smallei’ trade in tobacco, matches, paper and glassware.

The nine most important articles of import include chemical manure and flour, which are at present admitted free of duty, and coal, kerosene and frozen meats, tn which the duty is only 4 per cent.

Exyort Trade in 1919. The value of the export trade of Egypt increased from £E, 45,370,020 in 1918 to £E. 75,888,321 in 1919. This was almost entirely due to the rise in the price of cotton at the end of -the year; but the quantity exported also increased from 5,019,689 in 1918 to 6,708,906 kantars in 1919. The (antity of cigarettes exported was 561,948 kilog. against 404,763 kilog. in 1918. Other articles which show an increase are hides, onions, rice and cigarette paper, as well as phosphates, of which 42,574 tons, valued at £E. 76,052, were exported in 1919.

The share of the United Kingdom, and British possessions fell from 691 to 543 per mille, while the United States and Prance increased their shares from 94 and 46 to 220 and 77 per mille respectively. The increased .share of the United States is mainly due to cotton, but there was also a large increase in untanned goat-skins. The export trade with Palestine reached £E. 744,647, the most important articles being rice, cigarettes, ground nuts and sesame ; in addition to this there was a large re-export trade in cotton piece goods and articles of clothing.

Trade with the Soudan. Imports from the Soudan decreased from £E. 2,718,891 in 1918 to £E. 3,778,646 in 1919, but exports increased from £E. 2,492,208 to £E. 2,847,607.

Distribution of Trade by Ports. During the war Egypt naturally turned increasingly to the East for its supplies, and with the decline in particular of the import of coal and timber from Europe, a larger share pf the import trade of the country fell to Port Said and Suez.

In 1913'only 11 per cent, of the import trade passed through Port Said, but the proportion had risen by 1916 to 21 per cent., owing principally to imports of frozen meat, confectionery, beer, timber, cotton yarn and tobacco; it fell again in 1919 to 18 per cent. The share of Suez, 4 per cent, in 1913, increased through imports of flour, sugar, coffee, tea, natural indigo, chemical manure, cotton yam and empty sacks, until in 1917 it reached 14 per cent, of the whole; it then declined to 8 per cent, in 1919.

Owing to the difiiculty of finding cargo space from Alexandria, there was also a temporary diversion of exports, particularly cotton and gum arable, from that port to Port Said, whose share increased from 1 per cent, in 1913 to 9 per cent, in 1918, but diminished in 1919 to less than 4 per cent.

Petroleum. Until the latter part of 1913 all the petroleum products used in Egypt were of foreign origin. Had circumstances remained normal, the course of trade in these products during the years 1914 to 1918 would have been interesting as showing how the establishment of a local industry dealing with local raw materials might have affected the import of petroleum products, as well as other combustibles, and to what extent Egypt might have become a fuel producer for other countries. As it was, severe restrictions on the export of all kinds of fuel from nearly all the belligerent countries were coupled with difficulties in the transport of such products as were available for export from Egypt.

During 1914 the imports of benzine were 946 tons, but in succeeding years the imports increased enormously, reaching a maximum of 75,121 tons in 1918. This large increase was, of course, due to military requirements, and it is very probable that in normal circumstances Egypt wmuld have been able to obtain from its own oilfields all the benzine it required.

The situation with regard to kerosene has been different, and there were imported in the years 1914 to 1919 quantities varying between 50,000 and 122,000 tons. Some House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Online. Copyright (c) 2006 ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.