1904-1919
HONG KONG, 1911.
203
hibitive to the poorer Chinese and so checked business. The last two or three months of the year were particularly bad for business owing to the Revolution.
Flour.-Our returns show a great increase of 49,679 tons or 153.8 per cent. due to the poor rice and wheat crops in China throughout the year. Districts which were supplied last year from the abundant crops of China have this year been compelled to fall back on the American products. The price of rice has also enhanced the demand for American flour, this being used as a substitute for rice and rice-flour. The prices of rice throughout the year have practically stood at about 40 per cent. over normal prices, and possibly the high prices of flour in Australia have to some extent inflated our imports of flour here, inasmuch as such high prices have curtailed that country's shipments to ports south of Hong Kong which are large consumers (Java, Straits, Burmah, &c.), and the southern ports have come to us for their supplies. Hong Kong is the distributing centre of American flour for those ports.
Rice.-Here our returns show a falling off of 152,224 tons or 26.6 per cent. The failure of the southern crops in general, as evidenced by the high prices which have ruled on the markets for the last half year, has, of course, been the reason of the decline.
Summary.-The total reported imports during the year amounted to 3,995,793 tons, as against 4,292,194 tons in 1910, a decrease of 296,401 tons or 7.4 per cent. Exports show an increase of 71,672 tons or 3.1 per cent. Transit cargo shows an increase of 66,109 tons or 16 per cent. These figures are not, however, reliable there being no means of collecting accurate information in the absence of any Customs staff.
Emigration and Immigration.
135,565 emigrants left Hong Kong for various places during the year 1911 (111,058 in 1910). Of these 92,691 were carried in British ships and 42,874 in foreign ships. These figures show a substantial increase of 24,507 (or 22 per cent.) over 1910, and can be accounted for in the same way as last year, namely, by the demand for labour in the rubber plantations of the Malay States.
Statement of Number of Emigrants to Straits Settlements 1907 to 1911 compared with total Chinese Emigration 1907 to 1911.
No. of Emigrants to Straits Settlements. Total No. of Emigrants. 1907 83,048 105,967 1908 49,639 71,081 1909 48,016 77,430 1910 76,705 111,058 1911 100,906 135,565149,894 returning emigrants are reported to have been brought to Hong Kong from the several places to which they had
Page 210
Page 211
1904-1919
HONG KONG, 1911.
203
hibitive to the poorer Chinese and so checked business. The last two or three months of the year were particularly bad for business owing to the Revolution.
Flour.-Our returns show a great increase of 49,679 tons or 153.8 per cent. due to the poor rice and wheat crops in China throughout the year. Districts which were supplied last year from the abundant crops of China have this year been compelled to fall back on the American products. The price of rise has also enhanced the demand for American flour, this being used as a substitute for rice and rice-flour. The prices of rice through- out the year have practically stood at about 40 per cent. over normal prices, and possibly the high prices of flour in Australia have to some extent inflated our imports of flour here, inasmuch as such high prices have curtailed that country's shipments to ports south of Hong Kong which are large consumers (Java, Straits, Burmah, &c.), and the southern ports have come to us for their supplies. Hong Kong is the distributing centre of American flour for those ports.
Rice.-Here our returns show a falling off of 152,224 tons or 26.6 per cent. The failure of the southern crops in general, as evidenced by the high prices which have ruled on the markets for the last half year, has, of course, been the reason of the decline.
Summary.-The total reported imports during the year amounted to 3,995,793 tons, as against 4,292,194 tons in 1910, a decrease of 296,401 tons or 74 per cent. Exports show an increase of 71,672 tons or 3.1 per cent. Transit cargo shows an increase of 66,109 tons or 16 per cent. These figures are not, however, reliable there being no means of collecting accurate information in the absence of any Customs staff.
Emigration and Immigration.
135,565 emigrants left Hong Kong for various places during the year 1911 (111,058 in 1910). Of these 92,691 were carried in British ships and 42,874 in foreign ships. These figures show a substantial increase of 24,507 (or 22 per cent.) over 1910, and can be accounted for in the same way as last year, namely, by the demand for labour in the rubber plantations of the Malay States.
Statement of Number of Emigrants to Straits Settlements 1907 to 1911 compared with total Chinese Emigration 1907 to 1911.
1907 ..
1908
1909
1910
1911
No. of Emigrants
to
Total No. of
Straits Settlements. Emigrants.
83,048
105,967
49,639
71,081
48,016
77,430
76,705
111,058
100,906
135,565
149,894 returning emigrants are reported to have been brought to Hong Kong from the several places to which they had
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