Syria: An Economic Survey 



According to the English Consular Keport of 1910 there were 500 

 looms in Mejdel and 50 in Gaza for which 10,000 Ibs. of cotton 

 yarn were imported from Manchester. 



Carpets with Jewish emblems are woven in the workshop of 

 the Bezalel School in Jerusalem by Jewish girls. 



B. Oil 



(1) The production of olive oil and soap is the next most 

 important industry of Syria. There are oil presses all over the 

 country. The olives are picked in October and November. From 

 220 pounds of fresh olives about 20-31 pounds of oil are obtained 

 from the first pressing, and 7-13 pounds from the second and third 

 pressing, making a total of 27-44 pounds (sanza oil). In some 

 neighborhoods the olives yield more oil than others, especially 

 around Nablus. There remain 66-86 pounds of water, and 110 

 pounds of a dry residue (called jift). These 110 pounds of jift 

 contain 9-11 pounds of oil which are extracted by a chemical 

 process (sulphur oil) and used for soap making. If there are no 

 facilities at hand for this chemical process the jift is used as fuel. 

 In the last 20 years iron screw-presses have been introduced to 

 replace the primitive wooden presses. Recently hydraulic presses 

 have come into use. More than half of the olive oil produced in 

 Syria (10,000,000 okka out of 17,500,000) is used for soap making. 

 The rest is made into table oil, and is either used for domestic con- 

 sumption or else exported to Egypt and France. The latter costs 

 1.25-1.70 francs per okka, the former 0.85-1.25 francs per okka. 



At an approximate estimate there are from 600 to 800 oil 

 presses in Syria. It costs only a few thousand francs to set one 

 up, and not much human labor is required. According to Weakley 

 17,450,000 okka of oil were produced in Syria in 1909, of which 

 5,500,000 okka in Palestine. The Syrian olive oil is inferior to the 

 French because of the primitive method of production. Two fac- 

 tories established for the purpose of making oil by a chemical 

 process from the residue (jift) by the Russian Jewish company 

 "Atid" in Lydda and Haifa were unsuccessful because they were 

 planned on too small a scale, and the transportation of jift from 

 remote villages proved to be too expensive. 



(2) Part of the sesame growing around Jaffa and Haifa is 

 made into table oil in about 40 small factories, most of which are 

 in the Mutessariflik of Jerusalem. When treated according to 

 primitive methods sesame yields about 45 per cent of oil. Two 

 Jewish factories in Jaffa using hydraulic presses produce a better 



47 



