CANTON
A427
itself had been the record quotation since 1933. The approximate yield of the total silk crops for the year was 5,000 bales more than in the previous year. French Indo-China, India, and France were, in the order named, the three leading consumers. America still showed a lack of interest in Canton silk, and the quantity exported there was negligible. So active was the de- mand for Kwangtung silk that production could hardly keep pace with it, and the filatures in operation were generally able to dispose of their output far in advance. Experimentation in regard to the improvement of silk cocoon production was naturally handicapped, and the programme for the reorganisa- tion of the silk industry was seriously curtailed by the situation during the latter part of the year. The almost insatiable demand for supplies of wol- fram ore for their rearmament programmes by the world powers is reflected in the export figures, which were almost four times as much as the figures of the previous year. Trade in the commodity was still further stimulated by favourable prices. The quotation at the beginning of the year rose steadily and was almost doubled by June. It reached its highest level in the early part of October. From then on there was sharp drop until the beginning of December, owing to the some accumulation of stocks in Hongkong, but at the close of the year there was another rise in price. There was some falling-off in the quantity of straw mats shipped as compared with the striking advance made in 1936, but the trade was, on the whole, satisfactory and the market which had been won through improvement of the products were maintained. The manufacture kittysols, another old-established industry in Kwangtung which had recently made much progress owing to the moderization of the product, made another sharp advance. The favourable exchange and the cheaper cost of production with the consequent lowering of price brought about an increasing demand for this type of umbrella among consumers over- seas. The leaf tobacco trade noticeably revived from the depressed state into which it had fallen. Rubber factories in the district had a prosperous year owing to the greater consumption of Kwangtung-manufactured rubber boots and shoes. The six provincial sugar centrals continued their production un- der Government control. There was some decrease reported in the total acreage under cultivation, but, on the other hand, the average yield per mow is stated to have increased.
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The expansion of railway lines was hampered by the abnormal conditions of the latter half-year, but the Canton-Hankow Railway and the Canton- Kowloon Railway maintained their services in spite of Japanese air opera- tions. A loop line which linked these two railways was completed during the year. There was a decline in the shipping figures for all categories of steamers. Difficulties of navigation on the section of the river from Bocca Trgris to Canton was a barrier to sea-going vessels, but river steamers were able to navigate the "boom." In spite of the situation, the construction of the large deep-water port at Whampoa, approximately 10 miles down river from Canton, made headway. Work was started after April, and by the end of the year substantial progress had been made both in the connexion with the development of the harbour and of the port. The Sino-Japanese conflict was a set-back to the important place Canton had attained as an air ter- minus. Road construction, however, continued, and considerable progress was made in developing telephonic communication between Canton and other places.
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