tPfiiOlWMTMAM 
 
 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 
 
 BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND 
 DOMESTIC COMMERCE 
 
 SALES TERRITORIES 
 
 IN INDIA 
 
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 UNITED STATES 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 
 WASHINGTON: 1929 
 

3 30 .^ 6 ^- 
 
 Un36 
 
 SALES TERRITORIES IN INDIA 
 
 ' By Warren G. Patterson, Assistant Trade Commission er 
 ^ Calcutta, India 
 
 J . _ 
 
 fo 
 
 I 
 
 f India, as large and populous as Europe with 
 Russia omitted, is inhabited by 2,400 tribes 
 ^ or castes speaking 222 ver nacu l^ languages 
 and belonging to 45 ' different races. Too 
 often American exporters regard India in 
 terms of Calcutta or Bombay, forgetting that 
 there are 14 cities in India with a population 
 of over 200,000. 
 
 India has very appropriately been styled 
 ^^an epitome of the whole earth,” consisting 
 as it does of mountains far above the level of 
 perpetual snow, broad and fertile plains with 
 constant sunshine, great wastes of desert, 
 and impenetrable forests. In like manner 
 the tastes of the people and the commodities 
 they buy are at great variance. A product 
 that would enjoy widespread sale in one terri¬ 
 tory in some cases could not possibly be sold 
 in another. 
 
 The Buying Public. 
 
 In trade circles it is often said that ^hf an 
 article is good it can be sold anywhere.” 
 This does not apply to India. The very na¬ 
 ture of the people, their religious tenets, and 
 their occupations decide in large part what 
 articles will command sales. 
 
 India is still primarily agricultural, with 
 agricultural pursuits supporting 224,000,000 of 
 the 319,000,000 people. Industries support 
 about 9 per cent of the population, but the 
 bulk of these are unorganized and are con¬ 
 nected with the supply of personal and house¬ 
 hold necessities and simple implemients. 
 It might seem that an extensive market 
 
 36952—29 (1) 
 
2 
 
 would exist for manufacturerd articles com¬ 
 monly used in Europe and the United States 
 but this is not altogether true because the 
 per capita income in India is only about $10 
 per annum. 
 
 Four-fifths of the population of India are 
 affected by the castes which divide the people 
 into impassable social orders. The village 
 system, typical to rural India, is the backbone 
 of its economy and makes it possible for an 
 individual to live on so small an income. A 
 village does not consist merely of a collection 
 of houses, but corresponds to a township in 
 western countries. It is usually an area of 
 several thousand acres and is administered 
 by a ^^patel” or head man, who superintends 
 collection of taxes, settles disputes, and con¬ 
 trols the rural police. Another functionary 
 is the “patwari,’' who keeps a register of the 
 produce and the names of the proprietors. 
 Besides these, every village has its astrologer, 
 blacksmith, carpenter, barber, and potter, 
 who are rewarded by the produce of the village. 
 
 Types of Dealers Available. 
 
 The total foreign trade of India in private 
 merchandise (excluding bullion) is approxi¬ 
 mately $2,000,000,000 a 3 ’ear. It would be 
 safe to venture that more than half of this 
 trade is handled by no more than 25 conserv¬ 
 ative and powerful British firms which have 
 been established in India’s port cities for many 
 years. With the exception of a few Conti¬ 
 nental and American houses, the remainder is 
 mostly divided among the innumerable large 
 and small Indian firms. 
 
 When choosing an agent, therefore, the 
 American exporter must select a European 
 firm, an Indian firm, or one of the few Ameri¬ 
 can firms established in India. Credit infor¬ 
 mation is readily available on the European 
 firms, but it is generally extremely difficult, 
 if not impossible, to obtain such information 
 on Indian firms. European firms in India act 
 as piece-goods and machinery importers. 
 
3 
 
 engineering houses, shipping and insurance 
 agents, exporters of all kinds of produce, 
 managing agents of local industries, and con- 
 ' duct a general merchandise business. These 
 firms naturally endeavor to confine their 
 attention to the most lucrative and least 
 troublesome branches of trade, and, as a rule, 
 each has a large number of agency accounts 
 of foreign manufacturers which are relegated 
 to a department staffed by two or three 
 European clerks. 
 
 The Managing Agency System. 
 
 At the period when the East India Co. lost 
 its monopoly and dissolved, most lines of com¬ 
 mercial endeavor were financed bv banks 
 
 %/ 
 
 which did not confine their activities strictly 
 to financing but also took an active part in 
 buying and selling goods. Early in the 
 nineteenth century a number of firms operat¬ 
 ing in India were forced into liquidation, and 
 banks which took charge of the situation, 
 instead of advancing necessary financial sup¬ 
 port, floated companies rehung on their own 
 credit for finance. These companies are 
 known as managing agents. 
 
 The 25 large European firms already 
 mentioned are commonly known as managing 
 agents, whose duties and activities may be 
 briefly summarized as follows: (a) Control of 
 management; (5) appointment and dismissal 
 of staff; (c) calling of directors’ and share¬ 
 holders’ meetings; (d) keeping of company’s 
 books and the issuing of yearly and half- 
 yearh" reports showing the company’s progress 
 and financial position; and (e) purchase of 
 raw materials and sale of the finished product. 
 
 It is very difficult to draw comparisons 
 between the manner of operation of United 
 States Indian firms. In India, John Doe & 
 Co. may control jute mills, tea gardens, flour 
 mills, coal mines, oil mills, shipping lines, 
 presses, gas factories, light railways, sugar 
 factories, and rubber plantations while also 
 acting as agents for 100 or more manu- 
 
4 
 
 facturers. These separate companies and 
 interests are usually operated from one head 
 office and do business under one name. 
 
 WTiile in many instances they await orders 
 to come over their desks by mail, these large 
 European firms do an enormous amount of 
 business on their prestige. The idea that 
 goods must be pushed by active salesmen and 
 travelers is not generally accepted by them 
 as an essential policy, and it is often difficult 
 to find expert salesmen on their staffs, since 
 they seldom recruit this type of assistants. 
 Business is ‘‘good'’ or “bad," depending upon 
 the number of orders in the mail. 
 
 Indian Stores Department. 
 
 Probably in few countries of the world has 
 the public depended so largely upon Govern¬ 
 ment enterprise for economic development as 
 in India. The Indian Stores Department, 
 the Government’s purchasing agent, dealt 
 with 6,401 indents involving 39,485 items with 
 a total value of 26,667,900 rupees (S9,436,728), 
 during the fiscal 3 "ear 1926. This business 
 was negotiated almost entirely on a com¬ 
 petitive tender basis. It can not be empha¬ 
 sized too strongly that onl}^ those firms which 
 are approved by the Indian Government and 
 are enrolled on the various lists maintained 
 by the department can tender for Govern¬ 
 ment business; and that American firms can 
 get on the approved list only by maintaining 
 branch offices or appointing authorized agents 
 in India. 
 
 The Indian Stores Department is probably 
 the largest single purchasing factor in India, 
 and American firms should be extremely 
 careful to appoint an agent whose name 
 appears on the accredited list. Further¬ 
 more, American firms can not obtain a share 
 of this business unless their names are regis¬ 
 tered by their Indian branches or agency 
 offices. 
 
5 
 
 Selection of Dealers* 
 
 Many American firms have been dis- 
 appointed in their efforts to develop business 
 in India because they have sought suitable 
 agency connections by canvassing the country 
 by mail, and have given their representation 
 to order-takingorganizations which in¬ 
 vestigation showed to be heavily capitalized 
 and enjoying good credit. Securing suitable 
 representation in India is difficult but possible, 
 and with substantial advertising and other 
 sales assistance bv the manufacturer, a 
 profitable business may be expected. 
 
 Bazaar Lines. 
 
 For general purposes commodities may be 
 divided into three classes with reference to 
 selecting a dealer and granting territorial 
 rights. The first includes proprietary pro¬ 
 ducts, such as canned goods, toilet articles, 
 auto accessories, flash lights, hardware, shoes, 
 cutlery, disinfectants and chemicals, gartos, 
 hosiery, and similar or allied products. These 
 are fundamentally known as “bazaar” lines, 
 and it would be difficult to appoint dealersJn 
 each of the separate cities of India where a 
 potential market exists. 
 
 For an article which has competitive price 
 merits and is advertised by the manufacturer, 
 the matter of distribution and the question 
 of territory may be easily solved by appoint¬ 
 ing a capable manufacturers^ representative. 
 A number of American firms handling pro¬ 
 ducts of this type maintain branches through¬ 
 out India and do excellent pioneer work in 
 introducing American merchandise in \ the 
 bazaars. Their method of distribution is 
 quite thorough, their risks are great, and their 
 profits only reasonable. One or more American 
 representatives of the larger firms of g this 
 type are constantly covering the field and 
 inspecting a dozen or more branches through¬ 
 out India, each of which is manned by several 
 Indian salesmen who have been trained in 
 modern sales methods and who maintain 
 
G 
 
 constant contact with purchasers in the 
 bazaar. Indents for several million dollars, 
 worth of American merchandise pass through 
 the hands of this type of organization every 
 year, and a good share of this trade has been 
 developed through their efforts. 
 
 Engineering Lines and Machinery. 
 
 The second category of goods includes 
 chiefly engineering equipment and allied 
 products, consisting of machinery of all 
 description, iron and steel, machine tools, 
 heavy electrical equipment, paints and varnish, 
 belting, railway plants and materials, oil 
 engines, air compressors, lighting sets, wood¬ 
 working machinery, pneumatic tools, drills, 
 reamers, dies, and gear-cutting machinery. 
 At least half of the equipment of this type 
 is imported into India by the Indian Stores 
 Department and the purchasing departments 
 of the several private and State-ovrned rail- 
 wavs. 
 
 In this field, American firms have dealt to a 
 considerable extent with India through 
 London.' American firms have frequently 
 granted the Indian territory to subsidiary 
 companies in Canada and England on the 
 erroneous assumption that preferential tariffs 
 make it more desirable to cater to Indian 
 requirements througli Empire channels. 
 
 The London branch of the Indian Stores 
 Department is expected to be discontinued 
 in the year 1930, after which time Indian 
 Government purchases will be made largely 
 in India on a c. i. f. rupee tender basis. 
 
 Agencies for this second category of goods 
 may be safely placed with a single reputable 
 firm in Calcutta maintaining branches in 
 Bombay, Lahore, Madras, and Rangoon. It 
 should be stated that most firms of this type 
 select their lines very carefully, and in order 
 to interest the better firms in an agency it is 
 often essential for the manufacturer to sell his 
 account by personal interview. Such firms 
 will not be bothered with anything less than 
 
7 
 
 e. i. f. prices, liberal credit terms, and a sub¬ 
 stantial advertising allowance. In some cases 
 manufacturers have even had to grant their 
 agents a retainer fee without guaranty of 
 business to be effected, and it is common for 
 the manufacturer to contribute liberally 
 toward a travel allowance for the salesmen 
 to cover the territory. x4merican firms may 
 rebel at any such agency proposition, but it 
 must be admitted that it costs money to 
 operate effectively in India, and if agency 
 representation is considered too costly, the 
 manufacturer has scarcely any adequate 
 alternative but opening up his own branch, 
 a procedure which may not prove more 
 economical. 
 
 Specialty Lines. 
 
 In the third group of commodities may be 
 included specialized products such as electrical 
 refrigerators, automobiles, excavating and 
 harvesting machinery, tractors, motion pic¬ 
 tures, and many others. Needless to say, it 
 rarely happens that a satisfactory agent can 
 be found without the manufacturer sending 
 a personal representative to India. 
 
 The American exporter is usually desirous 
 of establishing connections for these lines 
 with European firms in preference to Indian 
 firms. This is a controversial subject, for 
 the opinion is held by many that it is better 
 to do a smaller but better-assured business with 
 a European firm than to enter into a contract 
 with an Indian firm which might result in 
 trade misunderstandings and a possible 
 financial loss. The question, however, can 
 only be determined on proved m.erit in individ¬ 
 ual cases. 
 
 Selling Rights. 
 
 Practically all of the larger European firms 
 maintain branches in the more important 
 cities in India and are in a position to handle 
 the whole of the territory by appointing sub- 
 
 36952-—20 "‘Z 
 
8 
 
 distributors in the smaller trading centers. 
 However, European firms operating in only 
 one or two centers frequently ask for the 
 whole of India, and experienced American 
 firms are careful to ascertain the firm’s ability 
 to cover the whole region before granting a 
 territory which could be better worked by a 
 separate agent. Very few Indian firms have 
 organizations to cover the country as a whole, 
 and when considering a firm of this type, it is 
 advisable to confine a territory to a single 
 city or Province. 
 
 Divisional Boundaries. 
 
 .India, with its vast plains, has no natural 
 physical barriers dividing the country into 
 distinct trade areas. The great Indo-Gangetic 
 plain lies at the foot of the Himalayas and 
 their eastern and western offshoots. It 
 stretches across India, including the valley 
 of the Indus and its tributaries and also the 
 valley of the Brahmaputra at the eastern 
 extremity of Bengal. At its western end the 
 Indus delta feeds into the Arabian Sea, and 
 at its eastern end the Ganges delta pushes into 
 the Bay of Bengal. This plain contains more 
 than one-third of the land area of India proper 
 and nearly two-thirds of the population. 
 
 Trade Centers. 
 
 The Indian Peninsula is in the form of a 
 triangle, the northern part covering 26 de¬ 
 grees of latitude, approximately 2,000 miles. 
 There are six key cities, each commanding 
 distribution of important areas. On the west 
 coast, Bombay and Karachi are the major 
 ports, vrhile Calcutta and Madras are the 
 premier ports on the east coast. Rangoon 
 is the chief port and distributing center of 
 Burma. From each of these five port cities 
 a network of railways extends into the inte¬ 
 rior. Lahore, in the Punjab, is the most 
 important interior distribution center and 
 possesses excellent railway facilities. An ex¬ 
 porter with satisfactory dealers, in these six 
 cities would be in an excellent position to 
 
9 
 
 command widespread distribution. It nat- 
 ur^y follows that dealers in these trade cen- 
 t^s would appoint distributors and sub¬ 
 dealers in the smaller cities, such as Lucknow, 
 Cawnpore, Allahabad, Bangalore, Benares, 
 Nagpur, and Delhi. 
 
 It is advisable for American exporters to 
 avoid granting territory by political divisiojis, 
 but rather thev should studv sources of dis- 
 tribution, such as the port cities and impor¬ 
 tant rail centers. 
 
 An exporter not having his personal repre¬ 
 sentative in India should not insist on a 
 particular limitation of territory, as this 
 might result in his inability to place the line. 
 It frequently happens that a certain firm 
 carries products which are particularly in 
 demand in a given area covered systemati¬ 
 cally by traveling representatives whose serv¬ 
 ices it wishes to utilize to the best advan¬ 
 tage. If a portion of the territory covered is 
 granted to another dealer, the agency can 
 not be advantageously handled. In many 
 cases it happens that a sales territory must be 
 made to fit a particular dealer rather than 
 selecting the dealer on the basis of his ability 
 to handle a given territory. Because of the 
 great distances in India, it is sometimes more 
 desirable to have a good dealer handling a 
 poorly defined territory than to have a poor 
 dealer handle a well-defined territorv. 
 
 Calcutta, Bengal. 
 
 Calcutta, located on the Hoogly River, 80 
 miles from the open sea, is regarded one of 
 the most important cities of the British 
 Empire. It has a population of 1,325,000 and 
 in many respects is the largest industrial, 
 commercial, and shipping center of India. 
 Next to Bombay, it is the greatest manufac¬ 
 turing city in India and is the stronghold of 
 British residents as well as British interests. 
 It serves as a shipping center for 90 per cent 
 of the world^s supply of jute and jute products. 
 Other products shipped are tea, shellac. 
 
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 Darjeeling 
 
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 SALES TERRITORIES 
 '^AND DISTRIBUTION CENTERS 
 
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 INDIA 
 
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 •RAILROADS 
 SALES TERRITORIES 
 
 (1854) 
 
12 
 
 wheat, barley, pulse, and oilseeds. It is the 
 chief railway center of the country and has 
 a network of lines extending to eyery impor¬ 
 tant commercial center, especially northwest 
 to the United Proyinces and the Punjab. 
 Most of the larger firms in Calcutta haye 
 staffs of trayeling representatiyes and are in 
 an excellent position to coyer adyantageously 
 the whole of Bengal as well as the Provinces 
 of Assam, Bihar, and Orissa. 
 
 Total imports of merchandise into Bengal 
 1927-28 amounted to 864,216,569 rupees, 
 practically all of which entered through the 
 port of Calcutta. 
 
 Lucknow and Cawnpore, United Provinces. 
 
 The territory coyered by the United 
 Provinces, consisting of Agra and Oudh, is 
 one of the most important areas in India. 
 The principal industry is agriculture, which 
 supports approximately 75 per cent of the pop¬ 
 ulation. It frequently happens that this ter¬ 
 ritory is granted to an agent in Calcutta who 
 appoints subagents in the three principal cities, 
 Lucknow, Cawnpore, and Allahabad. Since 
 there are comparatiyely few European firms in 
 any of those cities, this plan has the adv^antage 
 of having supervising credits and supplying 
 spares and service. It is extremely difficult 
 to make a general statement as to the 
 adyisability of appointing separate agents 
 in either Lucknow or Cawnpore to handle 
 the Province or of working it from Calcutta. 
 The nature of the commoditv" should be the 
 deciding factor. For commodities such as 
 road-building and irrigation equipment it is 
 thought that a large Calcutta firm vyould be 
 in better position to negotiate with the 
 Provincial authorities controlling such pur¬ 
 chases. 
 
 Bombay, Bombay Presidency. 
 
 The city of Bombay is frequently referred 
 to as the ^‘Gateway of India.” It possesses 
 an excellent harbor, capable of accommodat¬ 
 ing the largest steamers afloat, and is serv^ed 
 
13 
 
 by a network of railways; it is, therefore, able 
 to maintain close touch with the manufactur¬ 
 ing countries of the world as well as with the 
 principal markets of India. One large Amer¬ 
 ican manufacturer has established an assembly 
 plant in the city, from which distribution is 
 made to all parts of India. 
 
 The city has a population of 1,175,000 and 
 the business life is dominated by Parsees. 
 An agent in Bombay is admirably suited to 
 handle all of the Bombay Presidency, the 
 Indian State of Hyderabad (Deccan), and the 
 whole or part of the Central Provinces. 
 
 Total imports of merchandise into Bom¬ 
 bay Presidency in 1927-28 amounted to 
 863,605,353 rupees, practically all of which 
 entered through the port of Bombay. 
 
 Central Provinces. 
 
 The Central Provinces do not have a large 
 purchasing power, and there is a noticeable 
 lack of commercial and trading centers. The 
 Provinces are primarily agricultural, and land 
 is chiefly in the hands of “zemindars,’^ which 
 results in a large-scale landlord system. 
 Industrial life is only in its elementary stage 
 except in one or two centers, the more impor¬ 
 tant of which is Nagpur. It is not thought 
 advisable to appoint a separate agent in this 
 territory, for an agent in Bombay can satis¬ 
 factorily handle the Central Provinces by 
 traveling representatives or appointing sub¬ 
 dealers, or both. 
 
 It is debatable whether the territory of 
 Rajputana should be given to an agent in 
 Bombay, Karachi, or Lahore. The decision 
 would rest in large part upon the firm’s organ¬ 
 ization and the number of its traveling 
 representatives. 
 
 Madras, Madras Presidency. 
 
 Madras is probably the third most impor¬ 
 tant commercial center in India. It has a 
 population of approximately 500,000, and is 
 the capital of the Madras Presidency, which 
 occupies the whole southern portion of the 
 
14 . 
 
 Indian peninsula. The principal industry of 
 the Province is agriculture, which supports 
 approximately 70 per cent of the population. 
 There are several large firms in Madras in a 
 position to handle the whole of the Presidency. 
 
 Total imports of merchandise into Madras 
 during 1927-28 amounted to 245,643,026 
 rupees, practically all of which entered through 
 the port of Madras. 
 
 The Indian States of Mysore and Cochin 
 may also be conveniently and efficiently 
 handled from Madras. The Indian State 
 of Travancore offers a different problem. 
 This is one "of the most prosperous of the 
 Indian States and is showing a substantial 
 and steady growth. The total approximate 
 value of external trade for the fiscal vear 
 ending August, 1927, was 175,000,000 rupees. 
 Trivandrum is the capital, but Alleppy is the 
 chief port and trading center. There are a 
 number of reliable firms in Alleppy not only 
 willing but also capable to handle American 
 accounts. Twn American lines of steamers 
 make Alleppy an occasional port of call. 
 
 Karachi, Northwest India. 
 
 The port of Karachi, with a population of 
 216,883, is located at the edge of the Sind 
 Desert. Its importance and growth may be 
 attributed in large part to the fact that it 
 serves as a port of shipment for the produce 
 of northwestern India. It also serves the 
 purpose of storing and warehousing imported 
 products purchased by the potential and 
 active markets of the Punjab and Rajputana. 
 Imports of the Sind for the fiscal year 1927-28 
 amounted to 264,784,562 rupees, practically 
 all of which entered by Karachi, reflecting the 
 port’s importance as a distributing center for 
 the northwest. It should be taken into con¬ 
 sideration, however, that while Karachi is an 
 important shipping center it may be safely 
 said that 75 per cent of the shipments passing 
 through are negotiated by firms either in 
 Bombay or Lahore. In recent years imports 
 
15 
 
 have shown gratifying increases. The vast 
 irrigation projects recently carried out in the 
 Sind, the United Provinces, and the Punjab 
 are likely in the near future to treble the 
 present trade of Karachi. 
 
 Because there are but few active firms in 
 Karachi, it is not thought desirable to handle 
 the Punjab from that city. An agency at 
 Karachi can efficiently handle the Province of 
 Sind and the agency of Baluchistan. Raj- 
 putana, although geographically close to 
 Karachi, under ordinary circumstances could 
 be better handled by a large firm in Bombay 
 maintaining factory representatives. 
 
 Lahore, the Punjab. ^ 
 
 Lahore, the only important distributing 
 •center of India which is not a port, has a 
 population of 290,000 and is the capital of the 
 Punjab. Excellent railway facilities provide 
 communication leading in every direction and 
 permit Lahore to assume a position similar to 
 the hub of a wheel in distributing to north¬ 
 west India. There are a number of active 
 and energetic firms favorably situated to 
 handle satisfactorily an agency for the Punjab, 
 the northwest frontier, and the Indian State 
 of Kashmir. The Punjab is one of the most 
 productive Provinces in India. Extensive 
 irrigation projects have been partially com¬ 
 pleted which should, in the course of the next 
 four or five vears, considerablv extend cotton 
 and w^heat-growing areas. Lahore is of 
 sufficient importance to grant a separate 
 agency in that city unless it is given to a 
 Bombay firm maintaining a branch in Lahore. 
 
 Rangoon, Burma. 
 
 Rangoon is the logical place to appoint an 
 agent for all of Burma. It is the only large 
 port, as w^ell as the only city of any commercial 
 importance, in the Province. Burma, al¬ 
 though politically a part of India, is not sit¬ 
 uated in the Indian Peninsula. It is bounded 
 
16 
 
 on the northwest by Assam, but there is no 
 railway communication, because of the high 
 range of mountains dividing the two Provinces. 
 Rangoon is well situated to distribute through¬ 
 out the whole of Burma. There is an excellent 
 railway system, supplemented by a fleet of 
 freight boats which operate on the Irrawaddy 
 River. Imports into Burma for the fiscal year 
 1927-28 amounted to 260,752,209 rupees, 
 practically all of which entered through the 
 port of Rangoon. 
 
 Political Divisions Not Trade Divisions. 
 
 Mention has been made of the advisability 
 of appointing representatives in the six main 
 distributing centers. Five of these are ports 
 and the sixth, Lahore, located inland, is 
 a live commercial citv and railwav center. 
 Generally agencies should be confined to these 
 centers, as it is not thought advisable for 
 American exporters to operate with too many 
 firms in India. Firms located in the large 
 cities are also more responsible and can handle 
 inland areas by appointing subrepresentatives 
 in the smaller cities. 
 
 Influence of Racial Guilds. 
 
 A few communities in India have specialized 
 in commerce and industry as their principal 
 profession and have confined themselves to 
 particular trades. Each has selected some 
 particular commodity or product and has be¬ 
 come skilled in handling it by heredity and 
 long apprenticeship. 
 
 For example, the Bhoras, whose original 
 home was Persia, settled in Bombay during the 
 Mogul period, gradually spread themselves 
 over India, and have, with few exceptions, 
 taken to hardware and cutlery as their prin¬ 
 cipal business. Some of the parent organiza¬ 
 tions are 100 vears old. It is the usual custom 
 to have sons apprenticed to business associates. 
 After some years^ experience they are allowed 
 to open their own shops, with the assistance 
 of former emplo 3 'ers and other friends if suffi- 
 
17 
 
 dent capital is not forthcoming from the 
 family. The guild feeling is so strong that if 
 one merchant fails others will at once meet his 
 losses or commitments and set him on his feet 
 again. A trait of the Bhoras is that they do 
 not compete with each other. They predom¬ 
 inate also in heavy goods (iron and steel), and 
 some of the larger firms have branch offices 
 all over India. Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, 
 Colombo, and perhaps Karachi are the prin¬ 
 cipal cities in which the Bhoras have become 
 established. 
 
 The Mohammedan population, especially 
 the Lubbais of south India and those Hindus 
 converted to Islam during the Mogul period, 
 are to a large extent business men, and while 
 some of them carrv on sundrv bazaar business, 
 others deal in provisions and toilet requisites. 
 In south India and Burma, and to a small ex¬ 
 tent in Bombay, the Mohammedans practi¬ 
 cally control the provisions and oilman stores 
 trade. Credit is allowed to members of their 
 own community but not to outsiders, and it 
 is common to see many firms going out of busi¬ 
 ness and new ones being started immediately. 
 
 The Marwaris, apart from speculating in 
 stocks and shares, have established them¬ 
 selves as piece-goods merchants. Here again 
 young boys of the community are apprenticed 
 to prominent business men, and after learning 
 the business open their own shops, usually 
 in coimtrv centers. Financial assistance is 
 in many cases given by the former employers, 
 and contracts are made orallv. A defaulter, 
 found unworthy, is strictly ostracized by 
 other members of the community. 
 
 General Suggestions. 
 
 Proprietary’ commodities in India are sold 
 largely to bazaar dealers whose business 
 practices do not always conform to western 
 standards. Bazaar trade is highly specialized 
 and requires long experience and skill. In 
 this field of distribution an American manu¬ 
 facturer’s interests can best be served bv a 
 manufacturer’s representative covering the 
 
18 
 
 whole- of India, and no attempt should be 
 made to deal d’rect. 
 
 When exporting products other than in¬ 
 tended for the bazaar, an American firm 
 should concentrate on a few responsible 
 dealers in the larger cities who are in a posi¬ 
 tion to distribute to the smaller and less 
 important cities, since there are thousands of 
 small tradesmen throughout the country 
 who are unable to pay in advance for goods 
 that may arrive months later. They operate 
 through larger dealers in the trading centers, 
 who in turn negotiate with the old-established 
 firms in port cities. 
 
 There are a great many American manu¬ 
 factured products which should sell well in 
 India, provided they are in the hands of an 
 energetic distributor and are properly adver¬ 
 tised. With many lines, branch offices might 
 profitably be established. 
 
 Although the purchasing power of the 
 masses is extremely small, India is a land of 
 tremendous possibilities. It is interesting to 
 note that imports of American products into 
 India averaged only $15,000,000 a year 
 before the war, and that they now have 
 increased to more than $75,000,000 per 
 annum. When studying the potentialities^' 
 the exporter should keep in mind the nature 
 and value of the market, the competition to 
 be encountered, credit risks, cost of operation, 
 and the trend of India’s trade vrith no tariff 
 barriers. 
 
 Ceylon. 
 
 The island of Ceylon is not politically a 
 part of British India but is a separate Crown 
 Colony. It is chiefly agricultural, growing 
 tea, rubber, cocoa, coconuts, cinnamon, cit- 
 ronella oil, and cardamoms. Colombo, the 
 capital, is also the principal trading center. 
 
 It is connected with the hinterland by an 
 efficient railway system. An agent in Co¬ 
 lombo can satisfactorily handle the whole 
 of the island by appointing subdealers in the 
 cities and towns of lesser importance. 
 
INDIA IN TABLOID 
 
 Population. __ 
 
 Total area ___ square miles.. 
 
 Total imports (calendar year 1927)... rupees2 
 
 Total exports (Indian merchandise)...do _ 3 
 
 Per capita imports_do _ 
 
 Per capita exports _ do_ 
 
 Principal imports, 1927: 
 
 Cotton piece goods, unbleached, white and 
 
 colored__rupees.. 
 
 Machinery other than electrical_do_ 
 
 Electrical machinery_do _ 
 
 Electrical equipment_do _ 
 
 Sugar . ..do_ 
 
 Kerosene oil.. do_ 
 
 Motor cars _ do _ 
 
 Tobacco, cigarettes_do_ 
 
 Chemicals __ do_ 
 
 Aniline dyes_do_ 
 
 Paints and colors_do _ 
 
 Principal exports, 1927: 
 
 Jute, raw and waste _ do_ 
 
 Jute yarns and manufactures_do _ 
 
 Jute gunny bags .. do _ 
 
 Jute gunny cloth _ _ _ do _ 
 
 Tea _ do _ 
 
 Castor seeds .. do _ 
 
 Linseed _ do _ 
 
 Groundnuts (peanuts) _ do _ 
 
 Hides and skins, tanned or dressed, and 
 
 leather ___ rupees.. 
 
 Lac_ do _ 
 
 Imports into India from United States, 1927 
 
 ..-... ..rupees.. 
 
 Exports from India to United States, 1927 
 
 . rupees.. 
 
 319,000, 000 
 1, S19.000 
 , 468, 768, 000 
 ,172, 745,000 
 7.8 
 10.0 
 
 542, 068,000 
 154,926,000 
 20, S85,000 
 48,238, 500 
 157, 635,000 
 55,4.54, OCO 
 34,325, OCK) 
 23,885,000 
 26,621,000 
 16, 306. 000 
 12, 059,000 
 
 313,975,000 
 523,407,000 
 226,686,000 
 293, 283,000 
 323, 753,000 
 25,142,000 
 44,955,000 
 122,843,000 
 
 84,969,000 
 66, 710, 000 
 
 223,488, 000 
 
 349,873,000 
 
 ( 19 )