IOR/R/15/2/769

This is a correspondence file about the operation and impact of the quota system and export licensing restrictions that were imposed by the Government of India, on the supply of Indian tea (and to a lesser extent the supply of coffee) to Bahrain and also to Eastern Saudi Arabia and Qatar, during the Second World War (1939-1945). The main official correspondents are the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Political Agent, Bahrain; the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain; the Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain; the Food Controller, Bahrain; the Tea Controller for India, Calcutta; and other Government of India officials in the Departments of Commerce and External Affairs. Included in the file are various circular lists that give the names of Indian tea exporters and Bahrain tea importers, such as the monthly list of India tea quota allotments prepared by the Political Agent, Bahrain and similar lists, complied by the Director of Customs and Port Officer and the Food Controller on behalf of the Government of Bahrain.

The file also contains merchants' correspondence between: Indian tea exporters and Bahrain tea importers about their shipping consignments; the Chairman of the Persian Gulf States Pool (an association of Indian tea exporters) and the Political Agent, Bahrain about the distribution of tea quotas among members of the Pool; Bahrain tea importers and the Political Agent, Bahrain about Indian tea importations allowed to be landed at Bahrain under the Government of India quota system.