IOR/R/15/2/792

The file contains correspondence about the supply of matches from India to Bahrain, Qatar and the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, for local consumption, under Government of India export licensing controls and import quotas imposed during and after the Second World War (1939-1945), when matches and other essential commodities were scarce. British and Bahrain officials discuss the local distribution of the 1944 and 1945 quotas among local Bahrain merchants, including the grant of permits and import licences. There is also a small amount of correspondence with Bahrain merchants and importers of matches, who were refused Government of India export licences for their consignments, by the Export Trade Controller in Bombay. Included in the file is an exchange of letters with the Shaikh of Qatar about the illegal re-export of Government of India quota matches to Iraq and Persia (Iran).

There are several lists showing the names of approved Bahrain importers and Bombay exporters of quota matches, the names and addresses of Government of India accredited match factories in Bombay, and the total number of imports of matches from countries other than India between 1937 and 1939. There are also several Government of India circular letters, from both the Commerce Department and the Office of the Chief Controller of Exports to the Export Trade Controller in Bombay, describing export licensing procedures and listing the quantities of matches that Indian factories are permitted to export to designated countries in Africa and the Middle East.

The main correspondents are the Political Agent for Bahrain, the Director of Customs and Port Officer for Bahrain, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire, the Under Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Commerce and the Chief Controller of Exports, both at New Delhi.