104 COTTON IN EGYPT AND THE SUDAN. 



buyer, who must take possession of the cotton within two days, other- 

 wise storage is charged ; the final settling-up is made after the exact 

 amount of the tare has been ascertained. 



Banks also sell cotton on which they have made advances, and 

 their transactions are also made in the same manner as just described. 

 The cotton which has been grown on the State Domains is sold by 

 public auction in Minet-el-Bassal to the highest bidder. 



The conditions of sale for " spot " cotton in Alexandria corre- 

 spond almost entirely to the rules of the Minet-el-Bassal Exchange, 

 i.e., the prices are for net weight less tare and 1 per cent, for damp 

 and samples and all shipping expenses, including the export duty of 

 1 per cent, ad valorem (the values are fixed monthly), the 2 per 

 1,000 quay dues, and half of the pavement taxes, which come to 

 ^ per 1,000, are for the account of the exporter. 



Only a very small fraction of the crop is sold on the Daira 

 conditions, which are about 4 per cent, less favourable ; under these 

 the buyer pays the brokerage and the shipping expenses, but the tare 

 and 1 per cent, for damp are not deducted. 



The real exchange is the Societe Anonyme de la Bourse Khedi- 

 i)iale d'Alexandrie, which was established in 1883, and reorganised 

 in 1909 ; its capital is ^"60,000. It has a concession from the State 

 and is supervised by it. It comprises the Share and Stock Exchange 

 and the Produce Exchange, where listed shares can be dealt with, and 

 even transactions for differences are admissible. The Produce Ex- 

 change is under the management of a board, consisting of brokers, 

 merchants, and bankers, who daily fix the official quotations and 

 publishes them. There is also a disciplinary council, a court of 

 arbitration, and a clearing house for the payment of differences. The 

 hours of the Exchange are : From November to April, 9-30 to 1-15, 

 and 5-15 to 6-15 ; from May to October, 9-30 to 1-15. 



" Future " business in cotton has been transacted in Alexandria 

 as far back as 1861, in New York since 1870, in Liverpool since 1873, 

 and New Orleans since 1880 ; Alexandria is therefore the oldest 

 future market, and futures in cotton are dealt with on the Exchange in 

 Alexandria only for the months of November, January, March, May, 

 July, and August. Future transactions are liquidated twice every 

 month, on certain days, which are made known at the beginning of 

 the year, and the board of the Exchange fixes the rates of liquidation 

 which form the basis for the payment of differences where the cotton 

 is not actually taken up. These payments have to be made within three 

 days. When the difference in price amounts to as much as 12^ P.T. 

 per kantar of cotton, and 5 P.T. on the ardeb of cotton seed, the 

 board of the Exchange has a right to fix additional liquidation days. 



In all future transactions the broker must make out for each 

 contract a form in duplicate, of which the one, that the buyer 

 receives, must be signed by the seller and the other, which the seller 

 receives, must be signed by the buyer. The broker receives dupli- 

 cates signed by each of the parties to the contract. As a matter of 

 fact only the name of the broker is frequently mentioned, as long as 

 his financial position and standing may be considered sufficient 

 guarantee. Each contract-form ought to contain the number of the 

 contract, the names of the two parties, the quantity of kantars 

 bought, the description of the quality, the price of the cotton, and 



