li Tlie total value of mercliandise exported and imported, exclusive of transit, re-exportation, and specie, was £E. 48,306,500, an increase of £E. 1,890,500 on the 1908 total of £E. 46,416,000, or 41 per cent.

Specie to the value of £E. T',010,000 was imported, and £E. 6,458,000 exported, showing a net import amounting to £E. 553,000, as against a net export in 1903 of £E. 466,000. A notable feature of the movement of specie in 1909 was the unprecedented export of gold to India, amounting to no less than £E. 2,204,000 during December last. The banks took advantage of the fact that gold was released here earlier than usual, owing to the partial failure of the cotton crop, to proBt by the Indian demand for gold to move an exceptionally heavy harvest.

The following table shows the movements in Egypt’s foreign trade during twentyone years, from 1888 to 1908 inclusive, divided into triennial periods (OOO’s omitted) l?eriods.

Average of Triennial Periods.

1888 to 1800.

1891 to 1893.

1894 to 1896.

1897 to 1899.

1900 to 1902.

1903 to 1905.

190G to 1908.

Cotton exported— Quantity Price per kanlar ..

Value .. ..

.. Kantars. .. £B. ..

Total exports of inei’chandise.. £E. Total imports of merchandise j.

Excess of exports over imports of merchandise .. .. £E. Excess of imports over exports of specie .. • • n Total excess of exports over imports.. .. .. £E. Poreign chaiges and Government operations in securities j, Balance of trade— -J.e., excess of expoits over imports and foreign charges .. ’ £E.

or Excess of Imports and foreign charges over exports .. ,, 3,075 2-95 9,063 4,609 2-19 10,102 5,280 2-01 10,592 6,180 1-81 11,102 13,507 7,613 5,894 73 5,821 4,800 1,021 15,707 9,004 6,703 836 5,867 5,600 267 14,875 9,162 5,713 1,357 4,356 5,000 1,144 I. II, 4,680 1,468 3,212 5,500 2,288 6,067 2‘45 14,857 19,959 14,724 5,235 1,704 3,531 4,600 1,069 6,009 3-07 18,472 23,605 19,626 3,979 3,478 6,636 3*54 23,466 28,929 25,077 3,852 3,192 501 660 6,500 3,600 5,999 2,940 It should here be mentioned that the figures for 1909 have been intentionally omitted as being misleading for the purposes of comparison. The amount of cotton exported in 1909 is higher than the average for the last three years, although the recent crop is a particularly short one. This is due to the fact that the 1908 crop was late, and consequently a larger proportion than usual was exported in the following year, while on the other hand the 1909 crop was pushed forward for export owing to the high prices prevailing in November and December.

The principal features in the above table which merit attention are: the I'afid increase in the production of cotton, accompanied by a heavy fall in the price during the first half of tlie period ; the continuous rise in the price of cotton during the past nine years, causing a large increase in tlie value of exports ; the still larger expansion of imports, on account of which the excess of exports over imports has steadily fallen throughout the whole period; the large net imports of specie, contributing still further to reduce the balance of exports over imports.

It will be observed that the excess of exports over imports, including both merchandise and specie, which nearly reached £E.6,000,000 in the early part of the period under review, was, by the inflow of foreign capital, gradually reduced in the years of great prosperity. The reaction which set in during 1907, when the supply of foreign capital was in great measure cut off, again caused the excess of exports to increase, and this excess would have been more marked, had not the Government, between 1907 and 1908, sold securities abroad to meet expenditure against the Keserve Eund.

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