90 



The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



turning out of the scale in favour of the seller, 

 but it has proved enough to change the tone 

 and tendency of markets. Why has it done 

 so ? The answer is that whilst home traders 

 have been looking as usual for heavy supplies, 

 buying from hand to mouth;, holding as little 

 duty-paid stock as possible, others abroad have 

 acted differently. Finding their trade devel- 

 oping they went straight to the source of sup- 

 ply, competed with us there, and carried off 

 larger quantities year by year. Our buyers at 

 last realised that the addition to thb output in 

 three countries had been intercepted, and they 

 have done their best to prevent it continuing. 



Here are the figures : Five seasons back, 

 India, Ceylon and Java shipped 410,000,000 

 lb. of which we imported 306,000,000 lb. and 

 104,000,000 lb. went elsewhere, whereas last 

 season, out of 480,000,000 lb. exported we only 

 received 314,000,000 lb. while 166,000,000 lb. 

 passed from us. Of the additional 70,000.000 

 we only got 8,000,000, and the result has been 

 that to meet the increased consumption we 

 had to consume our stocks, which fell in May 

 22,000,000 lb. lower than they were rive years 

 before. The deflection of supplies, however, 

 has now been checked, and by the most ob- 

 vions process. The London buyers have had 

 to outbid the rest in order to attract heavier 

 supplies here, and to bring more on their own 

 account from the Eastern markets. The result 

 is that the growers have received more fcr 

 what they have sold in Mincing-lane than has 

 been paid them for many years, yet the ad- 

 vance upon last year's price is, on «n average, 

 but little more than three farthings a pound. 



What Theee Farthings Mean 

 How little it seems : but it means much to 

 the growers in Ceylon and India, who made 

 no more for years than l^d or 2d on their 

 crops until last season when the profit rose to 

 nearly 2|d per lb. upon the average of all. 



And what does the fd mean to those who 

 supply us with our tea ? It depends upon 

 the sort they sell. An all-rourd rise was 

 named to shew the sum total of the move- 

 ment, but the advance has not been equal for 

 all kinds, for whilst fine tea has risen little, 

 if at all, the lower qualities were Id to ljd 

 dearer, and the result is that those who h^ve 

 "a good-class trade" do well, whilst those 

 who live by selling tons of cheap tea at very 

 low quotations find themselves in a difficult 

 position. There has been no general advance 

 in retail prices, but a Beition of the public 

 pays it unconsciously, as the shilling and four- 

 teen-penny teas have disappeared from most 

 of the grocers' counters — their customers are 

 advised to " buy something better," and they 

 do it or think they do it. 



Meanwhile the struggle goes on inside the 

 trade between those who want us to buy the 

 cheapest obtainable, and those who sell the 

 sorts that cost double the price and does 

 not pay to sell, and sixteen-pence is made by 

 consent the lowest price. Only insiders 

 know how narrow the margin of profit is on 

 low-priced tea, in wholesale as well as retail 

 trade, alike for blenders, dealers, and grocers. 

 This has brought into question the custom of 



the auction-room to take no bid of less than Jd 

 advance upon the last one made — a rule framed 

 more than fifty years ago when tea was three 

 times its present price. The buyers now want 

 it modified, and bids made by eighths of a 

 penny. They abked for this, and meeting with 

 refusal from the sellers, a section of them agreed 

 to abstain from giving the usual orders. This 

 was the incident that set the rumour afloat and 

 the quidnuncs talking about an alarming 

 " Ring " designed to put down prices. 



An Empire of Tea Drinkers. 

 Figures for only eleven months ending Nov. 

 30 can yet be given. They showed our total 

 imports to be then 11,828,000 lb more, and 

 deliveries 8,276,000 lb more than in 1910. The 

 stock in bond was 2,130,000 lb lower, with more 

 afloat, due to come in this month. The duty- 

 paid deliveries have risen 8,478,000 lb due to 

 the retailers' fear of being short of stock in 

 hand if there were a strike, and not to be taken 

 as proof that consumption of tea is larger. Our 

 exports were only 200,000 lb short of 1910, and 

 are better than could have been counted on. 

 North and South America are promising outlets, 

 but the Continental business is small and dis- 

 couraging. 



The census returns, showing the population 

 to be smaller than the estimate, make our annual 

 use of tea per head to be as much as 6*39 lb, a 

 level never before reached. The following 

 figures show what is used elsewhere per unit. 



Ib. oz. lb. oz. 



, 8 Holland ... 2 1 



7 10 United States .. 1 2 



6 4 Russia .. 15 



5 Germany ..0 2 



i 12 | France ,.01 



It will be seen that while a free use of tea is 

 almost universal amongst ourselves, other races 

 are slow to discern its virtue. The chance cf 

 their doing so more quickly is still the hope of 

 those who have staked their fortunes upon the 

 future of our Eistern industry. There are signs 

 of progress here and there, and one of retrogres- 

 sion, for less tea per head is now bought in the 

 United (States than was the custom twenty 

 years ago. 



Turning no w to the tea-producing countries in 

 the last the first fact to be mentioned is that the 

 rate at which the total supply increases has slack- 

 ened. More tea is being produced, but no lon- 

 ger more than is wanted, and traders have now 

 to look for the source from which growing re- 

 quirements could be satisfied. Let us visit the 

 five countries, and examine them in turn. 

 Japan, Java, and China. 



In Japan we find the output limited to about 

 43,000,0001b. and all but 1, 000,0001b. of it des- 

 tined for sale in North America. Its island of 

 Formosa only yields some 24,000,000lb. of fancy 

 tea. 



Progress is being made in Java, with quality 

 and value improving. Its output may touch 

 48,000,0001b. with an annual increase, but this is 

 but a small fraction of the aggregate of 

 700,000,000 lb. 



120,000,000 lb. or more of various kinds is still 

 exported from China, besides the brick tea from 

 the factories. What of its future? Its trade 

 has suffered badly. New Zealand lost, Austra- 



Australia 

 New Zealaud 

 United Kingdom.. 

 Canada 

 Newfoundland 



