94 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS (No. 96 chief are cotton piece-goods, rice, groceries and pro visions, petroleum , and soap.

The clove export finds its way to many markets. In recent years British India received over 40 per cent., Germany 20, Great Britain, Holland,and the United States each about 10 per cent., while the remainder was distributed between Italy, Austria, and other countries. Under war conditions in 1915 British India , the United Kingdom , the United States, and Continental Europe absorbed respectively 46, 30, 18 , and6 per cent. of the year's output. Practically the whole copra export has hitherto gone to France. German East Africa used to take most of the rice, petroleum , dried fish , soap, and sugar, and nearly half , of the cotton piece-goods.

The commercial returns for a long series of years have shown a remarkable equilibrium of imports and exports, with a consequent absence of adverse trade balance. From the recent average of over a million sterling, the value of imports declined in the first two yearsofwar , but in 1916 rose again and passed the pre war figure. The total of imports, £ 1,259,829, in this year for the first time showed a considerable excess over exports, which were valued at £ 1,052,167; the tem porary surplus is probably due to conditions arising from the war.

In peace time Zanzibar imports from the African continent a considerable quantity of copra , ivory, hides, skins, and gum copal , destined for the United Kingdom and Continental Europe, India, and the United States.

The chief products intended for domestic useare grains and foods of various sorts, and cotton piece-goods, representing respectively 35 and 20 per cent. of the total value of imports.

Of foreign countries British India normally makes the largest individual contribution to the trade of the Protectorate, taking cloves and ivory , and sending rice , grain, flour, sugar, tea , hardware , crockery and cutlery , timber, bagsand kandas, and cotton piece -goods. Second to India , which conducts 30 per cent. of the exchange of products, comes the United Kingdom , with over 12