Read the excerpt from chapter 8 of The Travels of Marco Polo.

This province produces great quantities of excellent white incense, and also dates in great abundance. No grain is grown here except rice, and not much of that; but it is imported from abroad at a big profit. Fish is plentiful, notably tunnies of large size, which are so abundant that two of them can be bought for a Venetian groat. The staple diet consists of rice, meat, and fish.
What is the author’s reason for writing this text?
to persuade the reader to follow a certain diet
to convince the reader to travel to Shihr
to inform the reader about the products and foods that a region offers
to entertain the reader with stories about what the author has bought