Nyasaland - Colonial Economy

Colonial Economy

Cotton growing was the chief industry, though from 1918 onward it was being supplanted by tobacco. In 1916–17 the export of cotton reached 3,462,000 pounds; it fell to 866,000 pounds in 1917–18 (largely owing to shipping restrictions), rose again to 2,670,000 pounds in 1918–19, but in 1919–20 dropped to 930,000 pounds. Increasing attention was given to tea, while coffee was largely discarded. (The export of coffee which was 748,000 pounds in 1909–10 had fallen to 113,000 pounds in 1918–19.) The disfavour into which cotton fell was partly due to the neglect to use selected seed and to other errors in cultivation, but also to the fact that, where soil and climate suited both crops, tobacco growing was more profitable. After some unfortunate experiences arrangements were made in 1917 for the fumigation of the tobacco before shipment, with the result that the crop thereafter, in normal circumstances, commanded a high price in the markets of Great Britain. The export of tobacco was 4,304,000 pounds in 1916–17, fell to 2,025,000 pounds the following year, was 5,800,000 pounds in 1918–19 and 4,340,000 pounds in 1919–20. Both cotton and coffee were largely cultivated by native farmers as well as by the European planters.