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This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government
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CHINA TRADE.
CONFIDENTIAL.
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No. 1.
Rect
Red 16 JUL 07 [July 1.]
SECTION 2.
Question asked in the House of Commons, July 1, 1907.
Mr. Rees, To ask the Secretary of State for India whether there has been any diminution in the demand for Indian opium since the promulgation of the anti- opium edict by the Chinese Government.
Answer.
I have no direct information as to the present consumption of Indian opium in China, and it may be some time before comparative figures are available. I may point out that the export of opium from India this year to foreign countries is estimated considerably below the average export of preceding years. It will be under 62,500 chests, as against an average of 67,000 chests in the five years ending 1905, and the decrease is mainly due to smaller consumption of Malwa opium in China.
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