Quite substantial quantities o: paper are stored at the China Merchants' Wharves, which are under Japanese Military occupation, and {all efforts to effect release of the cargoes have hitherto proved futile, causing great apprehension and fiancial difficulties to several importers—Heavy quantities of paper are still stored at deviated ports—principally at Hongkong, Manila and Singapore.
Owing to the insignificant demand for paper locally which is chiefly, due to the totally disrupted communication system with the Hinterland, the absence of credit facilities on the part of the native banks, and ihe uncertainty surrounding the future of the Customs tariff, as well as the prohibitive storage rates demanded by the wharves, the importers are naturally reluctant to tranship their deviated cargoes to this port for the present. Some dealers are becoming more and more unreasonable in their demands for cancellation of also manufactured cargoes, but this Association have persistently taken a firm stand in this matter and emphasized that such requests cannot be complied with.
A conservative estimate of the stocks available in Shanghai and at deviated ports tends to show that this market is well covered into the summer, as far as the main qualities of paper are concerned, even if the present conflict should be settled soon.
The Paper-Dealers benefited greatly by the heavy increase in prices and made exceptionally good profits during the first half of the year under review, and, although the "Goddess of Fortune" betrayed mercury" and turned her heart to the fiery "Mars" during the summer, rudely destroying the Shanghai-Merchants rosy New Year's dream, the financial position of the Trade is still sound and the majority of
confidence to the future.. the paper-merchants ray 1 look with
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.