The Customs report on the trade of Mengtsz (Yunnan) for 1920 says that although general unrest, piracy, famine, exchange, boycotts, and Government restrictions of all kinds militated against anything like a successful commercial year the trading potentialities of southeast Yunnan overcome all obstacles, and the year ended with a total of Hk. Tls. 22,245,760 for the value of the year's trade, this representing an advance of nearly 1} million taels on the value of the trade for 1918, the record year, The centre of trade in the Mengtsz district is undoubtedly Yunnanfu, and the most casual observer when visiting that city cannot but be struck by the evidences of commercial activity that appear on all sides. Were Yunnanfu definitely opened to foreign trade, on-a free basis with full liberty to'mll traders, foreign and native alike, to establish themselves and develop their commerce without any fear of interference from pirates and greedy inland officials, there is little doubt that that city would become on a large scale the distributing centre for all south China.
Iueorts Dcnixe tHe Dealing with the imports of foreign goods the report states that the value of the import trade in foreign goods, which in 1919 had decreased by half a million taels, recovered this loss in 1920 and advanced another 600,000 taels, the total figures being Hk. Tls. 9,620,- 901, as compared with Hk. Tls. 4,647,996 for 1911. The continued boycott of Japanese goods was responsible for the almost complete disappearance of Japanese cotton yarn from the table of imports, only about one-tenth of the quantity imported in 1919 appearing in the table for 1920. There was also a decrease in Tongkin yarn; but the advance of over 10,000 piculs in Bombay yarn gives a net gain under this heading of over 3,000 piculs. The value of the yarn at Yunnanfu during the year was from $300 to $330 per bale. Piece goods importations show no great change, being better than in 1919 but only about equal to those of 1918. mong sundries there are no very ug features. The shortage in American kerosene ai] was about made up by an advance in Sumatra oil. The slight fall in importations is accounted for by the greatly enhanced price of this commodity. Cigarettes, so prominent an article of import elsewhere in China, show a falling off of 6,981 mille. The very extensive growing of native tobacco and the almost universal use of the very cheap native opium will long prove formidable rivals to the more expensive foreign article, White sugar decreased by 3,816 piculs, and sugar candy by 3,850 piculs.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.