TRAFFIC IN RAW SILK 



Of these amount*, the WILD ftiuu were M lull-. M "Jf 



exports of reeled wild silks were 62,693 ll> ; m \\*>\ .' n; MM i\, , u, 

 1902-3, 3,919 Ib. ; in 190& I ,n 1904-^ . 190&-4. 



26,904 Ib. ; and in 1906-7, 23,990 Ib. The traffic in r. tlk luu 



thus ilii.-tiM-,..- -, .:, :,.-,. < )f cAojom or waste, th figures given AM VM 

 i ii a-- h higher, and seem to have been on the whole JMrnasinfl. tJKMtg* 1 i 

 l'.ol-5 a shrinkage occurred. Tho figures were in 1900-1, 447,48* 

 in 1901-2, 492,113 Ib. ; in 1902-3, 626,977 Ib. ; in 1903-4, 727,545 

 llM'l -5, 350,514 Ib. ; in 1905-6, 634,593 Ib. ; and in 1906-7, 463,440 Ib. 

 So also the traffic in cocoons seems to have marked an expansion, *J***pgfr 

 u shrinkage occurred in 1905-6. Let it be observed, however, the export* 

 of this nature are almost entirely wiM cocoons. The returns of wild w 

 cocoons exported were in 1900-1, 13,976 Ib. ; in 1901-2, 32.940 Ib. 

 1 '.i<>2-3, 53,125 Ib. ; in 1903-4, 87,952 Ib. ; in 1904-6, 80.MO Ib. ; in 

 1905-6, 46,725 Ib. ; and in 1906-7, 36,965 Ib. ; which figures, it will be 

 , leave very small balances annually that have to be accounted (or 

 as being domesticated cocoons. 



Turning to the provincial transactions, it may be pointed oat that 

 practically the whole of the reeled silk exported from India goes from 

 Bengal. Of the chasam, it may be said that two-thirds go from Bengal 

 and one-third from Madras, the other provinces contributing negligible 

 quantities. So also of the traffic in cocoons, two-thirds go from Bengal 

 and one-third from Madras. Thus it will be seen the exports from the 

 province of Bengal are by far the most important, since, as a rule, they 

 amount to three-fourths of the total. Following Bengal come 

 Madras ports, which usually contribute from a fifth to a fourth of 

 the total foreign exports. As manifested by the returns of railborne 

 traffic, these Madras exports must be Mysore silk carried to the Madras 

 port towns by rail, and then exported to foreign countries. But if any- 

 thing, the Madras traffic seems to be declining, whil.- th- exports from 

 Bombay are expanding. In 1900-1 the Bombay exports stood at 

 10,091 Ib., while in 1906-7 they had expanded to 233,774 Ib. From the 

 returns of railborne traffic, the raw silk that drains into Bombay town 

 (from which the foreign exports are largely made) appears to be mainly 

 Panjab silk, or silk conveyed into the Panjab from across its land frontier 

 doubtless to some extent Kashmir silk. Of these foreign exports about 

 three-fourths go to France and approximately one-fourth to the United 

 Kingdom. 



Imports. Perhaps the most significant feature of this aspect Import*. 

 India's foreign silk trade is the circumstance that more raw (reeled) si c RMM suk. 

 is imported by Bombay and Burma than is exported by Bengal. The 

 figures for the years 1900-7 have been : 1900-1, 2,535,377 Ib., valued 

 at Rs. 1,01,69,402 ; in 1901-2, 2,128,483 Ib., valued at Rs. 80,96,300 ; 

 in 1902-3, 1,639,189 Ib., valued at Rs. 55,16,149 ; in 1903-4, 1,544 

 valued at Rs. 59,29,527 ; in 1904-5, 1,858,709 Ib., valued at Rs. 73,4! 

 in 1905-6, 1,645,696 Ib., valued at Rs. 71,19,049 ; and in 1 

 1422467 Ib., valued at Rs. 56,80,273. Of these quantities practical!? 

 the whole comes from China and the Straits, the former furnwhing abc 

 four-fifths of the supply. It has often been pointed out that i 

 import trade is mainly a consequence of the cheap freight* 

 opium steamers to Bombay. But there would seem no doubt 

 for a century or more had failed to meet the demands of 1 



1023 



