5 88 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March i, 1889. 
THE BEITISH TEA TEADE OF 1888 AND 
THE OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTUBE. 
We call attention to the Annual Eeport on 
the Tea Market of Messrs. Stenning, Inskipp 
& Co., which will be found on our back page. 
From this and other sources we gather that last year 
the imports of China tea into Britain were 105£ mil- 
lions of lb. against 116| in 1887, a decrease of 11 
millions. The import of Indian was 92 millions against 
85 millions, an increase of 7 millions. Ceylon tea 
was imported to the extent of 20J millions against 
11 J, an increase of no less than 9£ millions. Java 
Japan, &c, showed 4 millions imports, against 3, 
an increase of 1 million. The total imports of 
all kinds reached 222 millions, against 215, an increase 
of only 7 millions. Very curiously, the deliveries (for 
export as well as for home consumption,) last year are 
represented by exactly the same figures as the imports 
222 millions, of which 184 were for home consump- 
tion and 38 for export. The total deliveries were 6 
millions more than in 1887, the excess being 3J 
millions for home consumption and 2§ for export. 
The deliveries of China tea were 113 millions, 
against 119 J, a decrease of 6| millions. The deli- 
veries of Indian were 87 millions, against 83J, an 
increase of 3f millions. In the case of Ceylon the 
deliveries were 18 millions, against 10, an in- 
crease of no less than 8 millions. Java, Japan, 
&c, showed 4 millions, against 3. Stocks of tea 
at the end of the year were 108 millions, against 
106, an increase of only 2 millions. Stocks of 
China had gone down from 62J millions to 69£ ; 
Indian had increased from 35a to 42 ; Ceylon had 
risen to 5£ millions from 3J; while Java, Japan, &c, 
showed 1 million, against the same figures for stocks 
in 1887. — Let us hope that instead of a consump- 
tion of 184 millions of lb. in 1888, Britain will soon use 
200 millions of pounds, the deliveries for exportation 
rising from 38 millions to 50 millions of pounds. 
Such an advance will be necessary at an early date to 
take off the extra supply from Ceylon and India 
while arresting the downward tendency of prices. 
The rise in home consumption in 12 years has been 
from 151 millions in 1877 to 184J in 1888 ; but, 
whereas 123 millions were China and only 28 
Indian and Ceylon tea twelve years ago, 1888 
showed 105| millions Indian and Ceylon, against only 
78| of China. The percentage of India and Ceylon 
rose in the 12 years from 18§ to 57J. China tea 
is being ousted, but what we desiderate is a largely 
increased consumption of tea in Britain and in the 
world generally._ In the past five years the increase 
in consumption in Britain has been somewhat under 
3 millions of pounds per annum. The increase of 
1888 over 1887 was 3J millions, which is so far 
encouraging, although it is largely due to lowered 
prices; but if consumption does not advance at a 
much more rapid rate in Britain, and if other 
nations do not become much more largely tea 
drinkers than they are at present, the out- 
look will be dark not merely for China, but for 
India and Ceylon. We hear on all sides, however, 
that on the Continent of Europe a taste for tea 
is advancing, especially furthered as it is by the 
adoption of tin: English institution of "Afternoon 
Tea."— The rate of consumption of tea per caput 
in Britain is 5 lb. per annum. If the Continental 
nations would use Only 2 lb. per head, we should 
have nothing to fear from over-production. 
Since writing the above, a local authority has 
sent us hia opinion as follows : — 
" In tho present very general pessimist opinion 
respecting the course of the tea market, it is worth 
while to inquire whether the statistics warrant it. 
There is no accounting for temporary fluctuations 
of the market, owing to the number of causes 
brought to bear upon it, and planters must in future 
be content with the year's averages and not the 
weekly ones. 
It will be seen by the following figures that if 
the deliveries of tea generally in the U. K. do not 
exceed for the six months ending the 1st of June 
next, there will be an excess in the supply of 
just one per cent : — 
Import of tea into London from 1st Jane lb. 
to 31st December 1888 ... 173,363,388 
Deliveries of tea do do 130,943,991 
lb. 43,420,397 
Estimated import into London from 1st 
January to 31st May 1889 ... 50,000,000 
Total supply to 31st May 93,420,317 
If the deliveries do not exceed those of last 
year between the 1st January and 31st 
May 1889, they will be ... 91,362,311 
Excess ... lb. 2,068,086 
But as the deliveries for the 6 months ending the 
31st Dec. are 4 millions of pounds over those of 
the preceding year, there is every probability 
that the excess production of 1 per cent will be 
converted into a deficiency, because it is almost 
a certainty that the estimated supply from China, 
India and Ceylon will not exceed the figures for- 
merly given. It is probable that stocks may increase 
and deliveries fall off until the next Budget is 
introduced in anticipation of a reduction in the 
duties which the Chancellor of the Exchequer ha3 in 
a way promised to entertain, if the increased expendi- 
ture on the national defences does not swallow up 
all the surplus. I am inclined to think that 
he will make posterity pay for the national defence 
by devoting the sinking fund of the National 
Debt, to provide the necessary expenditure. If he 
does this, then the tea duty will certainly be 
reduced to 4d per lb. with other relaxations of 
taxation. But this will do Indian and Ceylon tea 
planters little good, as it will reduce protection 
against low China teas." 
« 
A NEW DEPASTURE IN THE SALE BOOM. 
One of the reforms in the Indian tea trade suggested 
by " Negotiator " in the reoent correspondence which 
has appeared in our columns on this subject, was 
initiated yesterday. Messrs. W. J. & H. Thompson 
offered for sale 846 packages of Indian tea under new 
conditions, the catalogue containing the announcement 
that " the ship mark and chest numbers will be given 
to the buyer only after the auction." Of course, the 
meaniug of this is obvious. As Mr. Thompson, the 
selling broker, no doubt inferred in the few words 
with which he opened the sale, an impression prevails in 
the trade that the publicity h'therto given to chest and 
ship marks on tea enables subsequent buyers to trace 
the first transaction to the detriment of the original 
buyer. If we may judge by the cheers at the com- 
mencement and close of the sale, the new idea " caught 
on." The sale was a good one, and apparently the 
producer lost nothing by the change. It remains to 
be seen whether the new form of sale will be generally 
adopted, and Ujw far this departure, which seems 
popular enough in the sale room, will please the planter 
and the merchant. We print a letter from a corres- 
pondent who thinks that the large wholesale dealers 
will benefit by the change at the expeuse of the small 
dealers, and that the producer may possibly suffer in 
consequence. We trust these fears are chimerical. 
There does not seem any harm in the new departure 
at present, and its development will be watched , with 
interest,— 2£ $1 0. iir<i,U,Ja,n. 18th. 
