COMMERCE — SHIPPING AND COMMUNICATIONS 703
Commerce.
Imports and exports : —
—
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
Imports . Exports .
£
4,338,970 4,482,000
£ 4,987,560 5,026,790
£ 5,206,025 4,494,280
£ 6,417,185 4,457,347
£ 7,093,269 5,164,088
£ 7,894,000 7,385,360
The following table shows the trade by countries for 1911:—
Country
Imports
U. Kingdom
Austria-Hungary
Belgium .
Germany .
France
Italy
Turkey
Other countries
£
1,199,000
^1, 885,000
202,000
1,590,000 987,000 365,000 639,000
1,027,000
Total
7,894,000
Country
U. Kingdom .
Austria-Hungary
Belgium .
France .
Germany .
Turkey .
Greece •
Other countries
Total
, ,
Exports
£ 969,000 423,000
2,151,000 445,000 916,000
1,168,000 506,000 807,000
7,385,000
The chief imports in 1910 were: coal, 132,389?.; iron, 931,940?. ; building timber, 279,720/.; machinery, implements, &c., 791,078?.; cottons, 1,975,310?. ; hides, skins, leather, &c., 367,500?. The chief articles of export were: wheat, 1.505,510?. ; maize, 539,648?. ; live stock, 292,973?. ; silk cocoons, 144,934?. ; hides, skins, &c., 154,293?. ; attar of roses, 231,718?. Other exports are fruit, timber, and tobacco.
A commercial Convention, specifying maximum rates of duties leviable on British im- ports into Bulgaria, fixing the dues leviable on merchandise, &c., landed at Bulgarian ports, and providing for the most favoured nation treatment between Bulgaria and Great Britain, was signed at Sofia on December 9, 1905.
Total trade between United Kingdom and Bulgaria for 5 years : —
Imports from Bulgaria into U.K. Exports to Bulgaria from U.K.
Shipping and Communications.
The number of vessels entered at the ports of Bulgaria in 1910 was 16,930 ot 3,895,880 tons, and 16,898 of 3,891,868 cleared. The chief ports are Varna and Bourgas on the Black Sea, and Paistchuk, Sistor, Vidin on the Danube.
In 1911, Bulgaria (including Eastern Rumelia) had 1,200 miles of railway open, and 187 miles under construction. Railways connect Sofia with the general European system. There were, in 1910, 3,679 miles of State telegraph lines with 6,711 miles of wire and 350 telegraph offices; the messages in 1910 were 1,966,358. There were, in 1910, 27 telephone systems with 177 miles of line. There were 2,203 post offices, and the number of letters, newspapers, kc, carried in 1910 was 61,960,916.
