During 1935 Palestine was experiencing a boom as the result of the entry of large numbers of Jewish immigrants from Europe, but during the last three years the country’s economic prosperity has declined because of unsettling political factors, Consul A.W. Scott in Jerusalem reported to the Commerce Department today.
His report dealt chiefly with the sale of American household appliances in Palestine. He estimated that there were 6,000 electric refrigerators in Palestine, 90 per cent of them American made. Since Jewish immigration was curtailed, Scott said, imports of refrigerators have dropped from ¤ 85,000 to ¤ 30,000 annually. The demand for electrical appliances is almost entirely from Government officials and Jewish immigrants and a small minority of the Arab population which lives according to European standards.
“The present economic situation resulting from the war, together with exchange and shipping difficulties, are factors which make the immediate outlook in this market far from bright,” he said.
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