Syria and
Palestine]
IMPORTS
133
(b) Imports
Statistics.—On the defects of the published statistics see above, p. 129. The Appendix contains tables corresponding to those given for exports, Table V containing the official figures for 1910-11; Table VI, which is based on Consular reports, showing the value of goods received at the three ports in 1910-12, classified according to the country of their origin; Table VII giving similarly classified totals and percentages for the year 1910.
The chief imports are:—
1. Flour and certain articles of food which are not produced in the country, e.g., rice, sugar, coffee. Flour ground by the native mills is not suited for fancy baking, and in some years is insufficient for ordinary needs. Imports of flour, sugar, rice, and coffee (nonArabian) in the years 1910-12 were as under
| 1910. | 1911. | 1912. | ||
| Flour | kg. | 24,508,000 | 21,392,000 | 11,713,000 |
| Sugar | kg.„ | 21,777,000 | 24,240,000 | 13,801,700 |
| Rice | kg.„ | 23,849,000 | 19,667,000 | 11,963,000 |
| Coffee | kg.„ | 1,465,800 | 1,328,160 | 1,345,920 |
The decreases noticeable in 1912 may be largely put down to the general depression caused by the Balkan War, following on the war with Italy. In the case of flour there had been some overstocking at Jaffa in previous years.
2. Coal and petroleum. The figures for 1910-12 were:—
| 1910. | 1911. | 1912. | ||
| Coal | tons | 79,045 | 66,476 | 82,980 |
| Petroleum | tons„ | 28,872 | 28,525 | 17,335 |