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DAIREN
TRADE IN 1929
Trade at Dairen made phenomenal strides as regards both imports and exports and reached the record total of 485.1 million Haikwan taels-an increase of over 81 million Haikwan taels. Due to the depreciation of the Shenyang note and the Kirin kuan t'ieh, and later to the collapse of the silver yen, the purchasing power of silver in the interior very greatly diminished, a factor which, coupled with the Sino-Soviet dispute, had a distinctly adverse effect on the import trade of Manchuria. On the other hand, the closing of the east-bound route via Vladivostock from the 14th July diverted an enormous amount of traffic through this port, and at one time-during November-the daily volume of cargo transhipped from the Chinese Eastern Railway to the South Manchuria Railway at Changchun averaged 20,000 tons. The temperature during March and April remained below normal, and sowing was delayed, but, with an im- provement in the weather later, harvests were generally satisfactory. The agreement between the South Manchuria Railway and the Ussuri Railway respecting the trans- portation of North Manchurian produce, which has been in force since 1925, was revised on a fifty-fifty" basis. The agreement is for three years, with retrospective effect from October 1928, and includes all kinds of grain and seeds as well as their products, such as oil and cake. Improvements to the Dairen Wharf, carried out by the South Manchuria Railway Company, include the erection of 10 cranes and 24 loists in front of the new godowns for the storage of import cargo recently finished on "A" wharf at a cost of nearly a million yen. Four other new godowns, which are intended to hold export cargo, were also completed. During the latter part of the year, as a result of the cessa- tion of shipments via Vladivostock, steamers loading beans for Europe proceeded to Dairen only, and freight was quoted from 5s. to 8s. per ton lower than during 1928. This was especially noticeable after November, on account of the excessive number of bottoms available and the arrival of larger steamers than usual with full load contracts. During the first six months imports were brisk, owing to shortage of stocks in the interior and the expectation of a rise in the price of Japanese piece goods, but subse- quently, the fall in silver and the Sino-Soviet dispute caused many merchants to re- frain from buying. During the last few years there has been a noticeable increase in the importation of artificial silk and cotton piece goods, and the total yardage imported in 1929 was more than four times that in 1927. In the early spring there was a glut in the gunny bag market, but later, as stocks were reduced, business became brisk. Gunny bags produced in India were formerly imported via Hongkong and Kobe, but of late years there has been an increasing tendency to import direct from Hongkong. The trade in wheat flour was active, due to cheapness in price, arrivals being mostly from Japan, followed by American and Canadian brands. The value of exports abroad rose to 237.8 million taels, shipments to Europe being particularly noticeable. The European demand for beans increases yearly, but was especially marked during the latter part of the year under review. The high price quoted in September resulted in quick delivery, and the 1929 crop arrived in the Railway Zone earlier than usual. Japan formerly offered the chief market for this staple, but it appears probable that, in future, quotations for beans in Manchuria are likely to be influenced largely by the European market. The failure of the linseed crop in South America contributed largely to the sustained demand in Europe for vegetable oils. Exports of beancake to Japan were dull, due to sulphate of ammonia being substituted for beancake as a ferti- liser, and merchants are now endeavouring to find a market locally for this article as cattle fodder. Exports to Europe, however, rose to 800,000 piculs, an enormous increase when compared with the previous year's figures. Stocks of kaoliang available for export were small. Quotations were accordingly high, but, after the new crop had been harvested, prices slumped and exports increased accordingly. Shipments of coal aggregated 3.8 million tons, the increase of 200,000 tons being due chiefly to consign- ments abroad.
In 1929 the net value of the trade of Dairen was Hk. Tls. 473,665,052, as compared with Hk. Tls. 392,076,219 in 1928, Hk. Tls. 336,372,493 in 1927, Hk. Tls. 332,078,468 in 1926, Hk. Tls. 273,709,962 in 1925, and Hk. Tls. 240,672,562 in 1924. In the autumn of 1928 the population of Dairen consisted of 90,003 Japanese, 845 Koreans, 250,091 Chinese, and 496 foreigners, making a total of 341,444.
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