The staple commodities of export by the English East Indian Company from Bengal in the middle of the 18th century were

1. A

   Raw cotton, oil-seeds and opium

   (a) Raw cotton, oil-seeds and opium. Cotton and opium mattered, but oil-seeds were not the signature mid-18th-century Bengal export bundle of the Company, and silk and saltpetre are missing. This option is not the key.

2. B

   Sugar, salt, zinc and lead

   (b) Sugar, salt, zinc and lead. Salt was a later monopoly story; zinc and lead were not Bengal’s staple Company exports in the 1750s. This option is not the key.

3. C

   Copper, silver, gold, spices and tea

   (c) Copper, silver, gold, spices and tea. Precious metals were typically imported into India to pay for goods; tea’s big Company story is later and more China-centred. This option is not the key.

4. D

   Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium

   (d) Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium. These were the classic Bengal staples the English East India Company shipped in the mid-18th century: piece-goods and raw fibre, silk, gunpowder ingredient, and opium. This option is the official key.

Summary. Official key is (d) Cotton, silk, saltpetre and opium. Mid-18th-century Bengal cargoes that defined Company trade were textiles (cotton and silk), saltpetre for Europe’s wars, and opium. Oil-seeds, base metals, or a gold-and-spice list do not match that staple set. Silver more often flowed in to buy those goods. The stored Set A letter is (d).