liKGlNNlNGS Ol'" TllK CO-OlVURATlV'K MOVKMlvNT IN AGRlCUWUKE 4I 



We shall here give a short summary of this business for the year 1912: 



Purchase of Beans for Sowing Frs. 34,408 



" Cotton Seeds " 8,557 



" " Chemical Manure " 12,708 



" Coal " 4,586 



Miscellaneous Purchases " 8,352 



Total Purchases . . Frs. 68,611 



IvOans to Members " 43,913 " 43,913 



Total of Business Operations . . . Frs. 112,524 



These figures call for some remarks. 



First of all it is to be observed that the association is able to purchase 

 at far lower prices than the fellaheen can individually, so that purchase 

 from it is always a gain to the members, in spite of the profit of 3 % 

 and the 7 % interest in case of credit pa^mients. It is also to be observed 

 that this interest, which might appear to some a little too high, especially 

 in the case of an association of benevolent character not seeking profits but 

 with eminently social aims, is indeed very low when the general sit- 

 uation of the money market in P'gypt is considered, and appears lower 

 still, when contrasted with the intolerable amounts exacted from the 

 peasants in places where there are not as yet any of these co-operative 

 associations and where the fellah is obliged to pay the usurious demands 

 of the " bakal ". 



We must, however observe that the net profits for the three 

 years, 1910, 191 1 and 1912 were respectively 2,844 frs., 3,382 frs. 

 and 3,407 frs. These profits were divided into three equal portions : one 

 third was placed to the reserve fund, one third distributed among the 

 purchasers, under the form of coupons exchangeable for purchases, in 

 proportion to the amount of the purchases ; one third, finally, is 

 distributed among members under the form of dividends. Small con- 

 tributions are also paid into the Fund for Assistance to the Poor, and 

 to the Fund for Co-operation Propaganda and Agricultural Education. 



Association of Kom-el-Nur. 



This association is perhaps the most important of those now existing 

 in Egypt. At the end of 1905, it had 307 members with a share capital of 

 47,576 frs., or more than three times that of the Shubrah-el-Namlah 

 association. As regards the amount of business done, the Kom-el-Nur 

 association also surpasses the other ; while in 1912, as we have seen, the 

 total business done by the Shubrah association amounted to 112,524 frs, 

 in the case of the Kom association, the figure was 173,473 frs. The 

 net profits were 17,345 frs., 10 % of the total business done and the reserve 

 fund on January ist., 1913 amounted to 9,182 frs. It is, however, to be 

 noted that the amount of the loans obtained from the National Bank in- 

 stead of amounting to 1,000 Egyptian pounds, was precisely double that 

 amount (51,240 frs.). As regards its business operations, there is no 

 substantial difference between them and those of the Shubrah association. 



