IOR/L/PS/12/3401

Printed and typewritten monthly commercial reports for Meshed (also spelt Meshad) [Mashhad], renamed and enlarged from October 1933 to cover the Khorassan (also spelt Khorasan) [Khorāsān] district. The reports were produced by the British Government’s representative in the region, referred to variously as: the Consul General and Agent of the Government of India in Khorassan; the Consul General, Meshed; the Consul General for Khorassan (Lieutenant-Colonel Cyril Charles Johnson Barrett; Major Clive Kirkpatrick Daly; Captain Everard Huddleston Gastrell; Captain Giles Frederick Squire).

The monthly reports, which begin as one-page written summaries and evolve over time to become comprehensive statistical surveys, provide an overview of the region’s trade. They contain remarks on the trade in various raw and manufactured goods, including: carpets, wool, cotton, skins, tea, sugar, rice, dried fruits, almonds, opium, piece goods and haberdashery. The reports also contain remarks on: rates of exchange, transport rates, the activities of foreign agents and manufacturing companies, manufacturing production, the general mood amongst traders, the state of the market. Later reports contain statistical tables on trade, including imports and exports via Zahidan [Zahedan]. Up until mid-1935, minute papers are included in front of most reports, containing report summaries written by India Office staff.

Some topical issues affecting trade are touched upon in the reports: changing relations between Persia [Iran] and Russia, including a trade boycott in late 1932, and a trade agreement in 1940; the Persian Government’s creation of monopoly companies in the mid-1930s; Second World War trade, including lists of goods reported to have been sent to Germany.