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102 PROBLEMS CONFRONTING RUSSIA
many Indian articles, as, for instance, jute, woollen
manufactures, leather goods, silk, indigo, tobacco, oils, raw
cotton, rice, coffee, spices, rubber, oil-seeds, hides, skins,
shellac, and lac, gum, etc., have a good chance of finding a
market in Russia, in spite of the Customs tariff of that
country. Trade in India tea has, as already mentioned, a
bright future in Russia, which is foremost among the
tea-drinking countries of the world, and appreciates more and
more the fragrant leaf grown in India and Ceylon. Russia,
on the other hand, is in a position to provide India with
products of her rapidly growing industries, at prices which
may prove far lower than those of articles imported into
India from other countries. Russia abounds in natural
resources, and her large population provides her with cheap
labour. There is, therefore, practically no limit for Russia
in being able to undersell the manufactured goods which
other countries export to India. Owing to the lack of
enterprise on the part of the Russian merchant, far too little
attention has been paid hitherto to the different classes of
goods which are produced or manufactured in Russia, and
which might be exported to India.
For example, Russian sugar should prove a welcome
import into India, as this country is bound to increase her sugar
importation, owing to her growing demand for this material,
and the decline of her own production. The beet-sugar
industry in Russia produces an annual amount of sugar far
in excess of the internal demand. Another Russian product
which should find a good market in India is kerosene.
Russia in 1904 to 1905 supplied India with not less than 53
per cent, of its imported kerosene; in the following year
her share of the import of kerosene fell to 4 per cent., owing
to the disorganisation of the oil industry in Baku. When
the disturbances in this district were over, the supply of
Russian mineral oil to India again increased. It is highly
valued, and although it has to meet the competition of the
Standard Oil Company, New York, the Burma Oil Company,
and the Asiatic Petroleum Company, it is sure to hold its
own. Burma will, of course, remain the chief purveyor of
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