Several factors gave impetus to Mumbai's industrial and commercial growth during the 19th century. Located in a cotton-growing area, the city benefited from the rise in world cotton prices with the shortage of cotton during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Cotton-textile mills emerged as the main manufacturing activity, and the number of people employed by them increased from 7,000 in the 1860s to 73,000 in 1900. Mumbai also prospered as an international port with the 1869 opening of the Suez Canal, which shortened the shipping route to Europe. Today most of India's cotton continues to be grown in the Mumbai hinterland on a fertile, lava-based soil known as black cotton soil. Textiles remain the dominant industry, employing more than half the workforce in the early 1990s. Other important products of Mumbai include refined oil, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, leather, furniture, timber products, ceramics, paper, jewelry, and food. Thirty-eight percent of the workers of Greater Mumbai were engaged in manufacturing activities in 1991, 24 percent were engaged in trade and 22 percent were employed in the service sector, while the remaining 16 percent were employed in household industry, agriculture, and fishing. Eleven percent of India's manufacturing employment is located in the Mumbai metropolitan area.
As India's leading port, Mumbai received nearly 30 percent of the nation's total imports and exports in 1991. It is also a shipping point for goods produced in western India. Two major railroads terminate in Mumbai, providing service to all parts of India. The city is served by two major airports: one domestic, which is located 26 km (16 mi) north of the central business district in Santa Cruz, and the other international, located 30 km (19 mi) north of the central business district in Sahar.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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