Directory_and_Chronicle_1940 — Page 495

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quintals during 1937. Many mills manufacturing this commodity suspended operations, small green beans and potatoes, the raw materials used in the manu- facture of vermicelli, being taken by guerillas as provisions. Movements of linen piece-goods to the interior, as well as the return of the finished article in the form of drawn-thread work, cross-stitch work and embroideries, were sub- ject to various delays. This, coupled with the increase in the tariff rate from 74 to 12 per cent on imported linens and sporadic warfare in the interior, naturally affected the trade. Exports of drawn-thread work were valued at $6,280 only as against $12,944, while only $496,110 worth of cross-stitch work and embroideries and $241,262 worth of lace and trimmings were exported to the United States of America out of a total export of $1.3 million worth of cross- stitch work and embroideries as compared with $1.9 million worth during 1937, and a total export of $1.6 million worth of lace and trimmings as compared with $1.7 million during 1937. Exports of Shantung silk pongees totalled 227,477 kilogramines as compared with 249,260 kilogrammes. Demand from Great Britain increased by 62,106 kilogrammes, Hongkong, however, taking only 90,884 kilogrammes, or 72,139 kilogrammes less than in 1937. Next to Great Britain, France took 11,001 kilogrammes as against 8,054 kilogrammes, Germany 5,446 kilogrammes as against 1,015 kilogrammes, with South Africa taking only one- third of her purchases in 1937. The export of hair-nets declined by 13 per cent from 684,423 to 595,748 gross, limited supply and increased cost of production being responsible. The American market took 199,176 gross as against 113,805 gross in 1937, Great Britain took 227,202 gross, with France, Germany and the Netherlands, the principal hair-net buyers, falling far behind their previous year's takings.

Local stocks of rice were replenished by importations of foreign rice: 58,404 quintals from Indo-China, 17,630 quintals from Siam, 17,476 quintals from Hongkong, and 1,467 quintals from other countries, as compared with imports during 1937 of 6,462 quintals. Imports of foreign wheat flour also advanced from 2,233 to 47,625 quintals. Coastwise imports of rice and paddy dwindled from 97,937 to 7,026 quintals, with interport imports of wheat falling from 40,871 to 2,512 quintals. Domestic imports of wheat flour also fell from 157,333 to 119,964 quintals.

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In February the market was flooded with different currencies of the yen bloc, while from June notes of the Federated Reserve Bank were put into circulation. The circulation of "southern" notes was prohibited from the 10th June, while bank-notes issued by the Bank of China and the Bank of Communications in North China and marked accordingly, originally permitted to circulate up to the 10th March 1939, were by decree accepted as from the 1st September 1938 only at a discount of 10 per cent as against Federated Reserve Bank notes. Rates for foreign exchange followed closely the Shanghai exchange, but domestic ex- change transactions were almost entirely undertaken by native banks and money shops. The remittance rate on Shanghai reached the high point of 11 per cent in October and ranged between 8 and 2 per cent during the winter.

Total tonnage entered and cleared under General Regulations increased by 658,404 tons from 2,778,815 to 3,437,219 tons, of which British tonnage totalled 1,811,052 tons.

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