690 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Apirl 1, 1886. 



CEYLON PBODUCE IN THE LONDON 

 MARKETS. 



Coffee — Cinchona — Tea — Cocoa. 



Our recent home advices, by mail, inform us 

 that the uiiirkets for nearly all Ceylon produoo 

 (tea only being a notable exception) still show the 

 effects of the general depression, prominent through- 

 out the past year in nearly every branch of busi- 

 ness and trade. Exeesive supplies check specul- 

 ation and commercial enterprise, and so far it is 

 impossible to guess how soon the general improve- 

 ment BO freely prophesied is to show itself. The 

 Coffee market, in spite of the Dutch sales having 

 gone a shade above valuations, remains quiescent 

 and inactive except for fine qualities of Ceylon 

 plantation new crop, which being scarce command 

 a good deal of attention. A steady market there- 

 fore for Ceylon coffee, the crop being so small, is 

 most probable. Supplies from Brazil continue on 

 a large scale, and the feeling in London is that 

 the patience of the Ceylon coffee planter if he ex- 

 pects to see Brazil 'out' must be inexhaustible. 

 They do say, however, that the old stocks in the 

 interior of Brazil have now been mostly forwarded 

 to Kio and Santos. On these points the following 

 remarks from the latest Circular of Messrs. James, 

 Cook A' Co. (Feb. 12th) are of importance : — 



The figures telegraphed last week from America 

 were too late for our report ; the stock '28,000 tons 

 marked a reduction of over ri.OOO tons for the 

 month, and the deliveries for January, of all kinds, 

 were '21^,000 tons. The following remarks from Messrs. 

 Miiitord & Co.'s Review of the American Coffee 

 Trade, are of interest ; — " The consumption of 

 Aiiiurica is now about 9.31 pounds per capita, 

 agaiusl 7. til in ISTi). While the United States as 

 a whole is the largest consumer of Coffee in the 

 world, its population is not so miiversally addicted 

 to its use as in Holland, where the per capita 

 consumption is about 21 lb., or in Denmark or 

 Belgium, where it amounts to about IHi Iti." In Great 

 Britain the use is less than one ponnd per head, but 

 the London stock has fallen to an exceptionally low 

 point — short of i>,000 tons, and the little good Coffee 

 suitable for the use of this comitry is now so difficult to 

 obtain, that the Euglish market must be a strong 

 attraction for liigldy valued qualities, especially as of 

 the cliief competing sorts, the blue Javas, less than 

 30,01)0 bags remain to be sold. 



With tlie short export of Java still to be felt tliis 

 Bcasuii, somewhat less afloat from the Brazils, and 

 late shipments of East India, a deficiency roughly 

 estimated at about 15,000 tons, the statistical pos- 

 ition must further improve. The imports into Holland 

 were light in December, and during January are oidy 

 3,782 tons, against 19,238, and ll,0ti0 in 'the same 

 monttia of two former years. The stocks therefore 

 will -iliew a suh.'tautial diminution, but the French 

 oflici il returns are not yet to hand. 



There if nothing new as regards crop reports, for 

 Ki" tile avernge seems to be 4^ million of bags and 

 for Santos about OJ million bags ; under such cTrcum- 

 stancts an export of not more than 6§ to 6J million 

 bags should be looked for from the Brazils. 



Ci.Nc'iioNA has become dull, and the market will 

 take some little time to recover the heavy exports 

 I'ecently made from this island. The trade base 

 their calculations on comparisons made with pre- 

 vious years, and nothing will convince them that 

 the prospective supplies are anything but enormous. 

 It is Imped that by this time the depressing in- 

 fluences have been fully discounted and that the 

 next movement will be an upward one. The 

 Btati.li.-.'il llgures at the end of January are not so 

 favourable as at the end of the previous month. The 

 total landings for January amounted to 8,071 pack- 



ages against .'),G(i8 packages in 1885, whilst the 

 deliveries fell to H,:)C5 packages against 6,647 in 

 1885, the stock thereby being raised to 66,400 

 packages against t)2,'247 packages at the end of 

 1885, and against 79,051 at end of January 1885. 



We tind from a general statistical survey of 

 Tf.a up to the end of 1885 a sound position and 

 one denoting substantial strength in itself. The 

 total imports into the United Kingdom for 1885 

 amounted to 212,375,000 lb. against 215,212,000 lb. 

 in 1881, and 222,006,000 lb. in 18.S.S, a falling-off on 

 the two years of 10,000,!tOO lb. 



The deliveries for home consumption show a 

 total of 182J million lb., against nearly 171 million 

 lb. two years ago, in fact, consumption per head 

 of tea in the United Kingdom has increased to 

 4-98 lb. per head against 4J lb. per head some four 

 years ago. The export deliveries exceeded 42 

 million lb., which added to the home deliveries 

 show a total of 224,493,000 lb. against 219,709.000 lb. 

 in 18S4 and 212,889,000 in 1883. The stocks, 

 moreover, have fallen from 125 millions lb. in 

 1883 to 119 millions lb. in 1884 and to 104 millions 

 lb. in 1885. The average price in bond, moreover, 

 has increased from 6.^d in 18H1, 4Jd in 1882, ■4Jd 

 in 1883, 5Jd in 1884 to 6jd in 18.85, so th»t, on 

 »11 sides, the close of 1H85 shows a uniquely 

 favourable position ; for, whilst imports are less 

 and the slocks greatly lower, the deliveries lor home 

 consumption have increased, and show a higher 

 average per head of the population than formerly, 

 which conclusively proves that tea is the special 

 beverage of the British people. The price in bond, 

 too, is higher than it has been for four years. 

 These facts and figures in themselves would formerly 

 have resulted in more active movements in the 

 London market than has been recently witnessed ; 

 but the commercial public are no longer guided so 

 much by the old method of stocks and deliveries 

 as they are by prospective supplies, aud areas 

 under cultivation, information regarding which 

 is more readily and accurately obtainable than it 

 ever was before. The able article in the Xliilist 

 on Indian Tea Companies, and referring especially 

 to Ceylon tea (which we are at length enabled to 

 republish in full under " Planting Intelligence '"f, 

 will be read with interest by residents in this 

 island. The commencement of the article deals 

 with the sound statistical position tea has attained, 

 and the hopeful view it is possible to take of its 

 future. It dates this satisfactory turn in the tea 

 trade from the threatened rise in the tea duties, 

 which gave an impetus to the market never since 

 wholly lost. It goes on to show how prospective 

 supplies are the real guides in these days to the 

 future of any market, and, until some reliable data 

 is available, markets remain in a state of suspense. 

 Whatever may be said about Assam and Burma, 

 we do not think Ceylon has much to fear in the 

 competition of Brazil, Florida aud Natal, for even 

 if these countries can grow tea of a sufficiently 

 good quality, the absence of cheap labour is an 

 impossible olistncle to any but a very liuiited outturn. 



Our local public, and most of the friends of 

 the colony at home, are now quite aware of the 

 capabilities of Ceylon as regards the production of 

 tea, but it will, "perhaps, be yet some time liefore 

 these are thoroughly understood by the world at 

 large, although we must say that this article in 

 the Stdtift demonstrates that people aie beginning 

 to understand that there is a " formidable residuum 

 of hard fact " in the future of Ceylon tea. aud in 

 the cheapness of its production and manufacture; 



In connection with our remarks aiul the L-nnsumpi 

 tion of our coming " staples ', (lea and cocoa) in 

 the United Kiugdom, the following table must 

 aSotd encourapement, while it is a coincidence to 



