150 (No. 98 ECONOMIC CONDITIONS The import of machinery has decreased a little in value andtherefore, it is to be presumed , considerably in quantity. In 1913 Great Britain supplied 77 per cent.; Germany 11 per cent .; and Egypt, by re exportation , 8 per cent. In 1917 only 18 per cent . came direct from Great Britain , while 80 per cent . was re -exported from Egypt.

Before the war all coal was brought from Great Britain , but in 1917 nearly half the requirements of the country were supplied by the Union of South Africa. Between 1913 and 1917 the price increased by 254 per cent ., but the quantity imported remained fairly constant.

For flour the 1917 figures, as compared with those for 1913, show an increase in price of 85 per cent ., and a decrease of 54 per cent. in quantity . The largest importswere from India and Egypt, Russia and Rumania having dropped out of the list on account of the war .

Most of the coffee consumed in the Sudan comes from Abyssinia , being sent to Khartum via the trading port of Gambela. This trade has been less harmed by the war than any other. The price rose only 7 per cent. between 1913 and 1917, while the quantity imported increased by 104 per cent. The trade, in fact, has grown steadily, but it is capable of still greater development, and Abyssinian coffee, which is of good quality, should find a European market . A small quantity of coffee is also sent to the Sudan from Brazil and Aden and a little is re-exported -from Egypt.

In contrast with coffee, tea , which comes mainly from India , increased 80 per cent . in price and only 6 per cent. in quantity. The value of the import of spirituous liquors, beer and wines declined from £E . 43,651 in 1913 to £E . 31,670 in 1917, representing 2 per cent. of the total import trade in the former year and only 1 per cent . in the latter . Seeing that the rise in the price of