Troup : Cutch Trade in Burma, 
263 
A Note on the Present Position 
and Future Prospects of the 
Catch Trade in Burma. 
By R. S. TROUP, F.C.h,, 
Imperial Forest Economist. 
Recent drop in the quantity and value of ctttch expoHed.S>ovae 
apprehension has o£ late been caused by a marked decrease in the quantity 
and value o£ cutch * exported £rom Burma during recent years, £or which 
various reasons have been assigned, and as a result o£ a detailetl enquiry 
which I have recently had occasion to make in the matter, it may be o£ 
interest to consider the £acts elicited, particularly as to their Ijearing on 
the probable £uture o£ the cutch trade. A glauce at the figures in appen- 
dix A will show that the net export value o£ Burma cutch is now con- 
siderably less than it was 10 to 15 year’s ago ; it reached a very low figure 
in 1904-05, but has recovered slightly since then. The coasting trade, 
on the other hand, does not show the same marked tendency to decline in 
net value, though the quantity now handled is much less than it was 
£ormerly. 
Drop in local prices. — The local up-country prices o£ cutch have also 
shown a serious decline. Thus at Pakokku, one o£ the local centres o£ the 
cutch trade in Upper-Bm-ma, cutch sold a £ew years ago at B50 per 100 
viss,t whereas o£ late the price has dropped to R25 — H30. 
Temporary fluctuations in the value o£ cutch have been o£ £requent 
occmTence in the past, and ai’e bound to continue so long as the supplies 
fluctuate so much as they have done and still continue to do. This is 
• Cutch is a brownish coloured extract obtained by boiling chips of the heartwood of 
Acacia Catechu, Willd. (including two varieties, A. catechiioides, Benth., and A. Stindra, 
DC.) The liquor obtained by the boiling is further boiled down to the consistency of syrup, 
poured into moulds, and allowed to harden. The valuable constituents of cutch are a tannin 
and a crystalline substance known as catechin, and tlie value of cutch as a tanning and 
dyeing agent depends on the amount of these two substances. 
f 1 viss = 3'65 lbs. avoirdupois. 
