rr h e 
MONTHLY. 
Vol. III. 
COLOMBO, NOVEMBER isx, 1888. 
|N0. 5. 
CL03H OF 00MM3RCIAL EXPORT SEASON. 
1887 8. 
ByT See Chamber of Commerce Export anil 
Distribution Tables on separate sheet. 
Wo are enabled in the presont issuo to include 
the final tabular statement of the Chamber of 
Commerce for the season 1887-88, which reaches 
us, however, only a few hours before we go to press, 
and we can therefore only offer a hurried review 
of the same. The aggregate totals of our export 
trado in the main staples included in the Chamber's 
statement must, on the wholo, be considered satis- 
factory. The volume of trade has kept up and 
developed even beyond expectations if the total 
result is kept in view. Of course poor old col'fco 
has further shrunk, but tea has come to the front 
in actual shipments, and more particularly in the 
"promise and potency" of good things to come, 
in a way to more than make compensation. Cin- 
chona as well as Cinnamon Barks have, in the 
opinion of most people, been shipped to an over- 
liberal extent. The trado in the various products 
of the Coconut palm in increasing steadily, a most 
satisfactory feature ; while minor estate and low- 
country exports — cocoa, cardamoms, plumbago, 
timber, essential oils, keop well to the front. 
We shall not bo in a position to forecast the 
probable exports of each article for season 1888 0, 
with the care which we should desire, for some 
weoks to oome. But it will bo observed that in 
discussing each product separately, and very briefly, 
wo add a pro tern, estimate of what may possibly 
be looked for during the current season in the 
export of each. 
TEA. 
Tho Beaaon'a exports close at 20,755,799 lb., 
while tho most generally accepted oatimate— that 
o( Mr. 11 K. Rutherford -was 22,300,000 lb., or 
1,644,201 lb. above the result; but it is quite ro- 
OOgniMd tb a two factors that neither Mr. Ituther- 
ford nr anyone elao could have foreaeen account 
to ft largo cxtont. if not altogether, for this defi- 
ciency. Ouo of these more immediately applying 
is the scarcity and dnarncss of freight to Lou- 
dun which has prevailed during most of Sep- 
tember, ho undoubtedly delaying the shipment 
of ft good dual of tea lying in Colombo ready 
for despatch ; the other factor was the quite 
exceptional drought which followed the burst 
of the south-west monsoon and has prevailed 
through August and most of September. This 
drought, while suiting some of the higher districts, 
has diminished the yield over a larger extent of 
lowcountry in tlvj Kelani Valley and Kalutara districts 
especially. Altogether, therefore, we consider that 
Mr. Rutherford's estimate for 1887-8 may be re- 
garded as a reliable one under normal circumstances, 
though the lesson of course may be to make more 
allowanoe in future for the great likelihood of 
some oae abnormal circumstance turning up at 
one time or another, during the twelve months. 
Looking at the development of our tea industry 
for ten years back as given in the table, no one 
can feel disappointment, it is little less than 
marvellous that the industry represented by 81,595 lb. 
in season 1878 79 should have attained to 1,522,8821b. 
five years later and to '20$ million lb. within the 
decade. The last-mentioned export shows an increase 
of over 66 p?r cent on that for the previous season 
1886-7. It is a matter of regret perhaps that the 
proportion of our teas passed through the Colombo 
sales does not keep pace with our increased export. 
The total so disposed of was only about 2J million lb, 
or 13 - 40 per cent of the whole exports, show- 
ing no increase over the local sales in season 1886-7, 
when the proportion was 13-31 per cent, while in 
season 1885-6, as much as 17"67 per cent of the 
total shipped, was sold locally. 
Special interest is taken in local sales, because 
the larger proportion of tea therein bought is 
shipped to Australia and other countries than the 
United Kingdom, and of course the greater the 
quantity so diverted, the less pressure on the London 
market. As regards distribution, it is clearly the 
day of am. ill things so far, in regard to our ex- 
ports elsewhere than to the United Kingdom, that 
is London, whioh got 20,109,521 lb. out of 
20,755,779 lb., leaving only 646,258 lb. for Australia, 
Continent of Europe, America, ivc, or only 3-11 per 
cent of the whole. Out of this Australia has 
taken -179.626 lb. ; but we trust the day is near 
at hand when a few millions lb. will be shipped 
from Colombo to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and 
New Zealand ports, overy season. 
Tin; LwumaT Shipment ok Tka from Okylon, since 
th« oxport oommenced, seems to have been the 
110 .".27 lb. taken away by the "Paramatta" the 
other day. Cargoes of several millions of pounds 
havo gone from China, but these have been in 
special tea ships, an institution not available 
and Boarc ly likely to bo available for us in Ceylon. 
But we may look forward to the tinio when half- 
11 -million and even a million of pounds will go as 
cargo in one of the larger steamers. 
