December, 1910.] 



511 



Edible Products. 



the business negotiated individually 

 with the principal outlets through the 

 Calcutta auctions. The season's trading 

 under the heading of " foreign markets" 

 must be regarded in an eminently 

 favourable light by producers generally, 

 and the net result is readily reflected in 

 a perusal of the figures issued daily by 

 the Tea Brokers' Association. According 

 to these the total offerings in Calcutta 

 have aggregated about 71 million pounds, 

 and the quantity which has left the 

 port destined for centres outside the 

 United Kingdom has exceeded last year's 

 off-take by some three million pounds ; 

 the increase as already mentioned is 

 chiefly attributed to the enterprise of 

 Moscow merchants. The Russian trade 

 with its influence on business locally 

 is now too well known to require expati- 

 ating on, but the feature most worthy 

 of comment in connection with the past 

 year's working is the free and consistent 

 bidding which has characterised their 

 operation in auction right from start 

 to finish of the season. Of the many 

 explanations forthcoming to account for 

 the increase in off -take, probably the 

 most feasible are to be found in the 

 comparative prosperity among the lower 

 classes as a result of the abundant crops 

 harvested in the agricultural districts 

 throughout, Russia and Siberia, and the 

 growing popularity of Indian tea to the 

 detriment of other growths. The latter 

 surmise is largely upheld by the fact 

 that shipments to Russia from both 

 Ceylon and China during the corre- 

 sponding period have marked a falling 

 away on the former season. A wider 

 demand has existed for all Fannings, 

 Dust, and small Broken Pekoe grades 

 to meet the requirements of the Hankow 

 "brick" tea factories, and exports have 

 recorded an appreciable expansion. 



Shipments to the American continent, 

 which at one time revealed a state of 

 business not altogether satisfactory.have 

 closed just about on a par with those of 

 1908, a substantial recovery having been 

 effected in the latter months of the 

 season. 



Consumption in the Australasian mar- 

 kets has also been maintained, and 

 shippers for these outlets have figured 

 conspicuously in the weekly auctions. 



Persian Gulf merchants have rendered 

 valuable support throughout, and have 

 seldom been unrepresented in the bid 

 ding, but exports to that quarter have 

 not attained the beneficial results of the 

 previous twelve months. This is pet- 

 haps little to be wondered at in consider- 

 ation of the political unr6st which nas 

 crippled other industries there, and the 

 constant robberies and tribal fighting 



on the caravan routes, together with 

 the practical collapse of credit, have 

 more or less paralysed business in all 

 its branches. Under the circumstances 

 our trade with this important outlet 

 must be regarded as particularly encour- 

 aging, and results would seem to indicate 

 that a more settled state of the country 

 would be immediately followed by a 

 marked expansion in the consumption 

 of tea. 



The principal centres which are fed 

 through the purchasing efforts of the 

 "Bombay" fraternity have contributed 

 largely to the successful issue attained 

 by those gardens, whose aim in manufac- 

 ture has been style and appearance 

 rather than cup quality, and the native 

 division in the auction room have been 

 continually to the fore, and seldom or 

 never entirely out of the market. 



Other "Sundry Ports" have been of 

 material value to growers, and have 

 accounted for nearly 2i million pounds 

 of tea which contrasts with 3£ millions a 

 year ago. 



To those who are in any way depend- 

 ent on direct business with coast towns 

 in the United Kingdom the trade is 

 every day becoming a more precarious 

 one, and where only a few years ago a 

 buyer could go into the auction room 

 fairly confident of being in a position to 

 purchase at least a large pr oportion of 

 his requirements he nowadays often finds 

 calculations completely upset. The 

 widening of the Russian demand, which 

 now embraces manufacture representing 

 practically every grade of tea has been 

 the disturbing factor, and as a conse- 

 quence direct shipments have fallen short 

 of 1908 by nearly half-a-million pounds. 



The local trade is uow-a-days an import- 

 ant one and consumption continues to 

 increase. The Tea Cess Committee again 

 allotted a portion of their funds to the 

 pushing of Indian teas among the native 

 public, and the usual sampling, canvass- 

 ing, etc., has been pursued, but it is 

 difficult to estimate to what extent the 

 beverage has gained in popularity 

 throughout these chaunels. Independ- 

 ent private interests have probably 

 been largely responsible for the bulk of 

 the incr ease, and bidding on account of 

 these demands has throughout been of 

 material assistance in the auction room. 



The Packing and Tea Box Question. 



The question of packing and boxes 

 seems to have received more attention 

 at the garderrs, and planters appear to 

 have evidenced greater interest in en- 

 deavouring to cater for the wants of 

 markets where special sorting and pack- 



