March 1, 1904.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
619 
OUR COMMERCE FOR 1903. 
ExcHANGic. — Fluctuations during the year 
show demand i-eniittances ranging from Is 
4 3-lGd to Is 3 31-32a; and 30 days' sight p»pev 
London on Colombo, from Is 3 2.5-32d to Is 
3 15-16d. Money was again easy,n\oreespecially 
for the latter half of the year. Money at short 
call was difficult of investment from June to 
November. Chetties discounted as follows : — 
In .January at 8 per cent. 
„ April 10 
„ July 8 
„ October 6 „ 
„ December 8 ,, 
Rates firmed up (luickly as the year closed, 
and as we write our review Chstties are dis- 
counting at 11 to 12 per cent. The year, as a 
whole, was an uneventful one if we put aside 
trade in cotton goods. Few dealers of stand- 
ing, among importers, failed to meet their 
engagements. The growth of direct importa- 
tion by the Moor and other retail dealers — 
without the Chetty having his profit first — 
continues, and seems likely to go on increasing. 
Continued keen competition among manu- 
facturers at home and on the Continent, to 
dispose of their outturn, has led to a further 
increase in arrival of co»"mercial travellers, 
who open sample-rooms for limited periods in 
the Pettah. This leads to considerable business 
in cotton and woollen goods, the latter es- 
pecially (which in former days weie imported 
by European houses,) coming direct to the re- 
tail trader. 
Cotton Goods. — From the Customs Returns 
—which are issued monthly to subscribers, 
we find that last year 12,094 packages of cotton 
goods were importpd against 13,932 during 
the preceding year. The total value given for 
Cotton Goods in 1903 is K5,9.3r),468 compared 
with K6,562,24.5 in 1902, R6,327,293 for 1901 and 
E8,208,817in 1900. Locally the ofl-tak 2 has been 
comparatively small. The following are details 
of importations of cotton goods for the last 
4 years: — 
1900 
Grey Cottons Packages 5,396 
White „ „ 4,287 
Printed „ „ 888 
Dyed ., „ 2,217 
Coloured Woven „ 7,578 
Sundry Cottons „ 93 
Yarn, Plain „ 31 
„ Dyed „ 102 
1901 
4,159 
2,527 
1,404 
2,780 
1,711 
84 
67 
173 
1902 
3,039 
3,774 
989 
3,897 
1,800 
218 
49 
166 
1903 
2,680 
2,361 
1,118 
3,657 
2,*>61 
460 
35 
122 
Total 20.592 12,905 13,932 12,694 
The action of speculators in New York upset, 
cotton Manufacturers, and the year just closed 
must be looked upon as one of the most un- 
satisfactory of many years past. If we record 
the almost unprecedented rise in price of cot- 
ton and at same time the small advance obtain- 
ed for cotton manufacturers, business in cotton 
goods cannot be described otherwise than as 
in a most unsatisfactory state. 
Cotton prices were, in:— 
Ist Janaary 
l6t April 
78 
Mid Uplands 
at 
Liverpool. 
d. 
4 18-25 
... 5 17-50 
Futures 
at 
New York. 
U.S.Oold 
cents. 
8-78 
S>-47 
Standard 
41" Grey 
Shirting 
Manchester. 
s. 
6- 4J 
6-101 
Ist July 
1st October 
3lst December , 
d, cents. s. 
6 37-50 12-86 7- 7* 
6 3-50 9-57 7- 3" 
7 24-25 12-93 8- 0 
An increase in price of cotton by 75% and 
an increase only of 25% obtainable for grey 
shirtings, is a record that those interested 
in cotton goods will be only too glad to for- 
get, -dnd that speedily. 
Woollen GooDS-show a slight increase 
m value. 
1901. 1902. 1903. 
■Flannel ... R153,591 E92,687 R126,913 
Woollen, other ... 327,142 230,971 266,')67 
It is again to be recorded as significant 
of the tendency of the times to get an 
apparently good article at a moderate 
price, that piece goods of mixed materials 
were imported last year to the value of 
R 169,017 compared with li442,040 in 1902 and 
R215,265 in 19oh 
Food Stufi^^s.— Importations for 1901, 1002 
and 1903 were as follows :— 
For 1901. For 1902. Forl903 
Rs. Rs. Rs. 
808,254 1,235,963 1,259,109 
33,652,523 33,194,429 33.888,682 
value 
Flour 
Rice 
Taddy, Oats & 
Gram ,, 
— 2,327,309 2,566,505 
The quantity of flour imported in 1903 was 
o^ily 113,589 cwt.. against 120,815 cwt. in 1902 
while showing almost same value last year. 
Imports of gram and paddy aggregated 
1,199,837 cwts. compared with 674,003 cwt. in 
1902 and 725,877 in 1901. Rice was cheap 
throughout the year. Last year, in reviewing 
trade for 1902, we observed "A noticeable 
feature in food returns is the falling-olf in 
importation of certain tinned foods, and the 
increase of the same foods frozen." The 
reverse is noticeable for 1908 as the following 
figures clearly show :— 
Tinned Foods. 
1901. 
1902. 
1903. 
Rs, 
Rs. 
Rs. 
Butter 
Beef 
Fish 
Mutton ... 
178,650 
38,243 
90,655 
12,962 
134,997 
22,183 
67,276 
7,516 
143,716 
30,177 
71,592 
6,491 
Total 
320,510 
231,972 
251,976 
Frozen, 
1901. 
1902. 
1903. 
Rs. 
Rs. 
Rs. 
Butter ... 
Beef 
Fish 
Mutton ... 
Poultry and 
(irame ... 
27,050 
12,791 
1,346 
92,340 
10,114 
53,398 
36,463 
4,201 
127,696 
16,371 
26,.S20 
19,779 
5,798 
23,449 
12,132 
Tolal 
143.641 
238,129 
87,478 
The decline in importation of frozen meats 
IS probably due to two causes : the dis- 
appearance of the large Boer Cobny at 
Diyatalawa, and the effects of drought in 
Australia for a period of years. 
Sugar.— While the total importation for 
1003 shows little change from 1002, the increase 
