Page:Syria and Palestine WDL11774.pdf/148

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132
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
[No 60.

depen- on the home olive crop, and does not vary much; the export figures show an upward tendency:—

—— 1911. 1910. 1912. 1913.
Beirut and Tripoli cases 15,550 16,830 12,010 17,750
Jaffa and Alexandretta tons 4,890 5,116 8,325 6,657

Exports of wine from Jaffa have also risen, the amounts 1909-12 being 2,289, 3,807, 5,180, and 4,477 tons respectively. Shipments of liquorice from Alexandretta are much influenced by freightage rates, the actual production being fairly constant. There is still a small export of egg-yolk and albumen from the same port, but it has almost ceased further south, where eggs are now sent out whole. The export of lace to America, previously valued at about 1,000,000 frs. annually, was stated in 1915 to have ceased, owing to deterioration in the quality.

Countries of destination.—As shown in Table IV (p. 153), France, Egypt, and other parts of the Turkish Empire are Syria's best customers. Besides the bulk of the silk, which goes to Lyons, France takes chiefly cereals, sesame, wool, skins, and eggs. Egypt imports a large variety of Syrian products-barley, durra, leguminous produce, cattle, sheep, dried apricots, wine, eggs, butter, oranges and lemons, tobacco, soap, leather, silk and cotton textiles-and much miscellaneous produce goes also to parts of Turkey, especially barley, pistachio nuts, dried apricots, eggs, butter, oranges and lemons, melons, wool, soap, skins and leather, silk and cotton fabrics. England takes large quantities of oranges, which are shipped mostly to Liverpool, barley, durra, leguminous produce, pistachio nuts, Latakia tobacco, and wool; the United States liquorice, pistachio, and devotional objects. To Austria go sesame, figs, cotton, and hides; to Germany sesame and skins; to Italy wheat, cotton, and wool; and to Russia oranges and lemons.