Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1921.djvu/1321

 COMMERCE — COMMUNICATIONS — MONEY AND CREDIT 1269

is known only to the inhabitants of Pirot. Meat packing is also becoming important.

Commerce.

According to official reports, the imports to Yngo-Slavia in the first nine months of 1920 amounted to 2,577.709,123 dinars, and exports to 716,393,284 dinars.

The principal imports are textiles, agricultural products, animal pro- ducts, chemicals, leather and leather goods, metals, and machinery. Exports : Maize, wheat and oat.«. cattle and other aDimals, fruits, timber and timber goods. The trade is mainly with Austria, Italy, and Czecho- slovakia.

The treaty of June, 1893, provides for ' the most favoured nation' treat- ment in commerce and navigation between the United Kingdom and Serbia. A new treaty, signed February 17, 1907 (for 10 years), provides for tariff reductions and for ' most favoured nation ' treatment as regards commercial travellers, the acquisition and possession of property, and other matters.

Total trade between Serbia and the United Kingdom for 5 years (Board of Trade Returns) : —

Imports from Serbia int" V. K. . . 5,170

Export! to Serbia from U. K.. 1,075

£ — ! 10,000 S2S.30S 610,759

Communications.

Yugo-Slavia has (1920) 5,684 miles of railway, of which 3,732 miles are of normal gause, and 1,952 miles of narrow gauge. With the exception of about 509 miles belonging to a private company, all the lines are State owned.

Of highways there are 3,495 miles, many of them in a ruinous condition. Total length of waterways, principally the Danube, the Save, the Drave, and the Tisa, 1,322 miles. The navigation on the Danube and Save is in the hands of the Navigation Syndicate of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

There were (1920) 11,430 miles of telegraph line and 16,030 miles of telephones.

There were 1,591 State post-offices an 1 2,195 communal post offices in 1919. In 1919 Yugo-Slavia had 854 telegraph stations, 726 telephone stations, and 452 railway telegraph sta ons.

Money and Credit.

The principal bank is the National Bank of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, in Belgrade, with the nominal capital of 50,000,000 dinars. To cover the issue of new bank notes the State has deposited with the Bank 30,000,000 dinars. The Bank may issue notes equal to three times the amount of the metallic deposits it holds. The Export Bank, with agencies abroad, assists in the exportation of Serbian produce. The Uprawa Fondowa or Mortgage Bank, the only large State institution of the kind iu Serbia, makes advances to a large amount for agricultural operations.