Indian Grain Trade. 



503 



the year. Besides, the people turned to the inferior grains 

 so far as they could be obtained, and to rice, of which, 

 fortunately, there was an abundant harvest in Burmah, 



The origin of the grain imported into India during the 

 recent famine is detailed as follows : — 24,000 tons of wheat — 

 a gift from the charitable — were sent to Calcutta from the 

 United States of America. Some wheat was also imported 

 into Bombay from the United States, and from the Persian 

 Gulf, whence there is generally a small and spasmodic 

 import trade into Western India. Pulse was imported from 

 the same region, and in smaller quantities from China, the 

 Straits, Ceylon, Eastern Africa, and Egypt. Barley also 

 was imported into Bombay from the Persian Gulf for 

 brewing purposes, and jawar and bajra came from the same 

 locality and from Eastern Africa. Oats (for horse-feed) were 

 received from the United Kingdom and Australia. Rice 

 was imported from the Straits, and other sorts of grain — 

 chiefly maize — from the United States, the Persian Gulf 

 Eastern Africa, and the United Kingdom. Of the total 

 importation of food-grains more than half came from the 

 United States, and most of the rest from Turkish ports on 

 the Persian Gulf. 



The total export of Indian wheat was 1,910,553 cwts., 

 against more than ten million hundredweights in the 

 previous year. The export occurred in the early part of the 

 year, as the trade afterwards collapsed in consequence of 

 the very bad crops, and of the retention for internal con- 

 sumption of such wheat as was available for export. 



The out-turn of the wheat crop in each of the principal 

 wheat- growing provinces was as follows : — 





Average 







Provinces. 



(five years 

 ending 



1894-95. 



1895-96. 





1893-94). 









Tons. 



Tons. 



Tons. 



Punjab 



1,998,269 



2,395^353 



1,715.873 



North- Western Provinces and Oudh - 



1,619,750 



1,141,297 



1,236,486 



Bengal 



459,000 



486,300 



345,800 



Bombay and Sind - - . . 



781,139 



960,322 



511,533 



Rajputana and Central India 





i,i95>ii3 



1,138,730 



Central Provinces .... 



730,981 



502,275 



431,689 



