WOOL 



INTERNAL AND TRANS- FRONTIER Tr<U 



cepted as fairly representing the annual supply of wool in India, or say 

 36,058,362 Ib. Hut that estimate may be checked by reference to various 



>rds of actual transactions: 



Trans- frontier Traffic. The imports of wool into India for the latest Trans- 

 years of official n-t urns were 1902-3, 92,990 cwt., valued at H 

 1903-4. !7.I25 cwt., valued at Rs. 27.HUUI i>.|^, 106,964 cwt., 

 valued at Rs. 30,89,138; 1906-6, 141 771 . ut., valued at R*. 42,46,286 ; 

 and in I-.H.C, 7. 171.7*.". , wt.. valued at Rs. 57,86,817. The chief countries 

 that contribute wool to India are South -Western Afgh.. 

 the last-mentioned year gave 106,686 cwt., and Tibet, 34,869 cwt., * 

 th<- -npi'iv from Kin-hit came to 13,071 cwt. To allow of comparison with Kb**. 

 ot In-r ret urns, the total imports may be expressed in pounds, viz. 19,239,696. 

 The growing importance of the Trans-frontier wool traffic is one of the 

 most encouraging aspects of the modern trade. 



The exports of wool across the frontier are unimportant, and consist 

 chiefly of foreign wool sent to Southern and Western Afghanistan and to 

 Kashmir the total exports in 1906-7 came to 92,960 Ib. 



Internal Traffic- Rail and River. The totals carried during the past Internal 

 six years have been as follows : 1901-2, 197,341 cwt. ; 1902-3, 249,797 

 cwt. ; 1903-4, 284,680 cwt. ; 1904-5, 359,700 owt. ; 1905-6, 364,725 

 and 1906-7, 383,102 cwt. If the last figure be expressed in pounds to 

 allow of ready comparison, we learn that 42,907,424 Ib. were distributed 

 by the railways during the year in question. Of that amount 19,239,696 Ib. p 

 would doubtless correspond with the supply received across the land 

 frontier from foreign countries, thus leaving a balance of 23,667,728 Ib. 

 as derived from the sheep of India proper a figure that, on estimated 

 production, would leave a balance to meet purely local or homestead 

 requirements of 12,390,634 Ib. 



In an official report of the Department of Land Records and Agri- 

 culture in the United Provinces, it is estimated that the local production 

 in these provinces for the year under review (1896-7) may have been 

 something like 2,624,000 Ib. The balance available for local consumption 

 (chiefly at the Cawnpore Mills), after adjusting imports and exports on 

 local production, would have been 2,333,556 Ib. This view would be in 

 accord with the returns for rail and river traffic, and is perhaps a fairly 

 representative statement of one of the chief provinces in the wool trade 

 of India. 



Foreign Exports. The following were the total export- Foreign 



to all foreign countries during the past six years : 1901-2, 19,592,620 Ib., Export*. 

 valued at Rs. 79,38,259 ; 1902-3, 27,892,898 Ib., valued at Rs. 1 . 1 

 1903-4, 33,234,775 Ib., valued at Rs. 1,37,73,957 ; 1904-5, 38,571,968 Ib., 

 valued at Rs. 1,89,16,747; 1905-6, 42,51 4,498 Ib.. v.dued at Ks. 2. ! 1. 17.288; 

 and in 1906-7, 45,909,898 Ib., valued at Rs. 2,42,65,349. Last year's 

 exports thus show an expansion of 8 per cent, in quantity and 14*73 per 

 cent, in total value on the figures of the year preceding, and of 134 per 

 cent, quantity and 205 per cent, in value on the exports of 1901-2. At 

 the same time they maintain a continuous record of progression for th.- 

 sixth year in succession. Of the total exports in 1906-7, Great Britain 

 took 43,184,135 Ib., the United States conn: \ith 1,578,903 Ib. 



Another significant feature is the rise of the Karachi traffic. In 11*'! - 

 the share taken by that port came to 6$ million pound?, but in 190. 

 stood at 18| million pounds. Karachi is to-day about co-equal iu im- 



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