British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 833

CHAPTER XIX.

Cereals Meat

Fats and oils

Dairy produce, vegetables Pulses

Sugar and beverages Transport

Textiles

Fish


LP. 2,878,680 ~.758,259 17,005 242,488 13,410 1,783 429,389 1~4,627 30,010

Total

6,555,651

29. It will be observed that by far the greater part of the expenditure on subsidization has been incurred in maintaining supplies of bread and meat at arbitrary price levels. The quantities of these two commodities imported and sold during the past two years has been :-

1943/44 1944/45
Tons Tons
Wheat 77,180 106,875
Barley 28,222 64,498
Wheat flour 33,052 25,715
Other flour 17,503 15,085
Millet 25,327 1,672
---
181,284 213,845
Cattle 4,871 11,924
Sheep and goats S,506 6,729
30. The subsidization policy was called into being by the exigencies of the war : there were no free markets for the classes of commodities which it covered; supplies and particularly shipping were short; and plans in relation to the sources and channels of supply had to have a world-wide range. The extent of the expenditure was determined alike by conditions at the prescribed sources of supply and by conditions affecting transport. Palestine has always been a "demand" country in .respect of the basic commodities and was accordingly particularly susceptible to the dislocation of normal supply arrangements caused by the war. To that extent the amount to be expended on subsidization was beyond local control and consequently the expenditure is shown under the "war commitment" expenditure in section 1 of chapter XIV.

31. In its economic aspect, the subsidization policy proved to be successful in mitigating inflationary tendencies as is illustrated in the following table :-

833