INDIAN TRAFFIC IN OILS 



OILS 



Trade 



Oateotte 

 Ttafle. 



the supply that meets the foreign exports. It in drawn of course from the 

 provinces, but is consigned direct to the ports, hence does not appear in PrnytMiil 



Miter-provincial transactions. Calcutta and Bombay practically 

 divide the traffic between them. Bombay in 1904-6 (the year with thr 

 largest imports during the past five years) took 13,986,721 cwt., of w)u< h 

 4 million c;imc tmin the Central Provinces and Berar, 3 million from th<- 

 United Provinces, 2$ million from the Presidency of Bombay, 1$ million 

 i i oin Rajputana and Central India, and 2J million cwt. from the Nizam's 

 Dominions. 



The traffic with Calcutta, on the other hand, amounted in the same 

 year to 11,165,255 cwt., of which 6J millions came from the province of 

 Bengal, 4 from the United Provinces, and the balance from the Central 

 Provinces, Rajputana and Central India. The figures for 1904-6, however, 

 were exceptionally high, and in the succeeding years were respectively 

 Bombay, in 1905-6, 7,289,797 cwt., and in 1906-7, 8,555,004 cwt. ; and 

 Calcutta, 6,228,115 cwt. and 6,420,501 cwt. Of the other port towns 

 that participate in the foreign trade in oil-seeds it is hardly necessary to 

 go into such details since the amounts are so very much smaller. Karachi, 

 in 1904-5, drew 2,870,569 cwt. ; in 1905-6, 1,826,105 cwt. ; and in 1906-7, 

 2,972,222 cwt. almost entirely from the Panjab, while Madras took in 

 1904-5, 2,868,273 cwt. ; in 1905-6, 2,731,138 cwt. ; and in 1906-7, 2,856,730 

 cwt. in the same years from its own Presidency and the Nizam's Territory. 

 Turning now to the returns of coastwise trade. The oil-seed traffic 

 in 1904-5 came to 1,294,166 cwt., valued at Rs. 79,23,531 (or 528,235), 

 and in 1905-6 to 1,552,904 cwt., valued at Rs. 1,12,35,391 (749,026). The 

 most significant feature may be said to be that the chief oil-seed of these 

 returns is sesamum (til), 431,386 cwt. having been exchanged inter- 

 provincially in 1905-6. Of this, Burma took 316,372 cwt., the bulk being 

 derived from Madras. The traffic in castor is also worthy of special 

 comment. Of the total 220,419 cwt. exchanged, 143,429 cwt. were taken 

 by Bengal, the major portion being derived from Madras. The next most 

 important item is the supply of castor drawn by Bombay, which in the 

 year in question came to 51,755 cwt. 



OILS. It has already been pointed out that the EXPORTS in oils have Oils. 

 manifested a considerable expansion, namely, in the case of fixed oils, FowJgi 

 from a valuation of 190,333 in 1876-7 to 359,965 in 1905-6, and in 1906-7, 

 311,820 ; and in essential oils from 12,008 in 1876-7 to 47,421 in 1905-6, 

 and in 1906-7, 54,183. But by far the most important vegetable oil 

 (exported from India) is that of the cocoanut. The total exports of that cocoanut. 

 oil during the years 1902-7 have ranged from about one to three and a 

 quarter million gallons, or, say, a valuation of from 14 to 49 lakhs of rupees 

 (85,952 to 325,439). The supply goes almost exclusively from Madras, 

 and is consigned in three nearly equal portions to the United Kingdom, 

 Germany and the United States the only other country of importance 

 being Belgium. The exports of linseed oil go almost entirely from Ben- LiMeed. 

 gal, and to a very large extent represent directly the operations of the 

 Gourepur and other oil-mills in the neighbourhood of Calcutta. The 

 exports are consigned chiefly to Australia and New Zealand (see p. 731). 

 The internal traffic in oils (as manifested by the rail-borne transactions) 

 is also interesting. Excluding kerosene, the total exports in 1906-7 came 

 to 1,712,165 cwt. The most important is mustard and rape (726,506 cwt.), 

 followed by " others " (638,489 cwt.) ; then by cocoacut (199,272 cwt.) 



817 52 



Kmrmchl. 



CoMtwiM. 



Barm*. 



