July 1, 1899.J THH TEOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
13 
of the worst quality is sold for 3J piastres or 8|d. 
A canister 4 feet hi&h and diameter of second 
quality is sold for 5 piastres or Is. id. 
If the condition of the country should improve / 
should think there a-ould be a good demand for tea here. 
The bagdad, Mosul- Van route would be the best, 
as the middlemen in Constantinople would be saved. 
A central agency at Bagdad with sub-agents at 
Mosul, Bitlis-Van and Diarbekr ought to do a good 
trade in cheap tea of a good quality. 
The people are not at all satisfied with the stuff represen- 
ted m the present samples— 1 am, Yours, faithfully, 
(Sd)F. R. Maunseli,, Capt. R.A., E.B.M., Vke-ConsuU 
Beirut, Turkey, 25i/j January, 1899. 
Sir,— I am directed by H.B.M's Consul-General 
to reply to your questions regarding tea in your 
letter of the 7th ultimo. 
6,000 okes— 15,000 chests tea passes annually through 
Beiruit. Destination— Beirut, Damascus, Jaffna, and 
Jerusalem receive an equal quantity. 
Tea is not a national beverage, foreign residents 
consume the most. The quantity imported is drunk. 
ludian teas, price 7d. to 9d per lb, China teas, 
4 to 7 per 31b. packets. China teas packed in 10 
or 201b. chests. Indian teas in 20 to 801b. chests. 
The imnort duty is 8 per cent ad valorem. 
There" is little chance of developing the Trade— I 
remain, Yours very faithfully. (Sd.) J. E. Crow. 
British Consulate," Angora, TuRKfiv, 27fA January 
1899. 
Dear Sir,— The following few particulars which" 
in accordance with the request contained in your 
letter of the 5th ultimo, I have obtained respecting 
the consumption, etc, of tea in the town of Angora 
and immediate district are, I trust, what you require, 
I should, however, state by way of preliminary that 
as no oiiicial statistics whatever are procurable, the 
estimate given of the amount consumed must be 
regarded as at best approximate only. 
The answers to your questions are as follows : — 
1. No tea passes through the province of Angora, 
such as is imported being used in the district itself. 
The tea, I am informed, is of Chinese origin and 
comes through Russia to Constantinople, from which 
town it imported here by rail directly. 
2. The annual consumption of tea in Angora and 
district is estimated to amount to 2,500 okea (the oke 
being taken at 3ilb,) of a value of some £500, which 
would give an average price of 4s. an oke or about 
Is. 5d. per lb. 
As you will see by the above figures. Angora can 
hardly be said to contain a tea-drinking population. 
Nevertheless I am told that during the last three or 
four years there have been signs that the article has 
been gradually gaining ground, and that the families 
who formerly drank nothing hut cofee are nom rejdacing 
it hij tea. The same, though to a less degree, may 
be said of the Turkish peasants among whom the 
custom has been introduced by immigrant Circassians 
from the Caucasus. 
3. I enclose four samples of the tea sold at Angora 
with price per oke of 2|lb. attached, and I would 
ask you to note that the sale of the quality marked 
No. 3 at 3s. 6d per oke, or about Is. 3d. per lb., 
amounts to 90 per cent, of the total consumption. 
As to the method of packing, etc., I am informed 
' that the tea is forwarded to the export houses at 
Constantinople in wooden chests contain from thirty 
to thirty-five okes {82 &51b.) each. From Constanti- 
nople it is sent to the dealers here either in these 
same boxes or in tins containing from ^Ib. to 61b. 
each, according as the order may have been, whole- 
gale or retail. I enclose mark on the cheeta which 
contain quality No. 3 at 33. 6d. per oke. I may 
add that the wholesale buyers at Angora are 
allowed 91 days for payment by Constantinople firms, 
the Turkish lira, moreover, being accepted at 112 
piastres, whereas it is taken in the market at only 
108 piastres. 
3. The import duty on goods entering the Ottaman 
Empire is 8 yev ceut, ad valorem. There is no octroi 
at Angora. 
4. With regard to your question whether there is 
room for further development in this particular trade, 
I can only say that while, as already stated, there has 
been an increase during the past few years in the 
consumption of tea, this increase has only been very 
gradual and is likely to continue to be such for some 
time. In other words, British teas it introduced would 
have to compete with the Chinese article for a share 
of the rather modest annual consumption now existing, 
and what chances of success they might have I can 
of course offer no opinion, as it would depend on the 
taste of the consumer. In any case 1 am informed 
that the article introduced should be of the same 
quality or a little superior to the sample vihich I 
have numbered 3 and of a slightly lower price, say, 
Is. Id. per lb. 
As regards method of doing business, I do not see 
how the present system, viz., of obtaining the article 
through the large import houses of Constantinople, 
could be changed, for even if a dealer hare were to 
attempt to enter into direct relations with, say, an 
Indian firm, he would have to employ a commission 
agent at Constantinople to clear the customs for him 
and forward the goods on. I can of course supply 
you with names of Angora grocers (there are no 
exclusive tea dealers) if desired, but it would appear 
to me that the- better course under present conditions 
would be to apply to some old established firm En- 
glish for preference, at Constantinople who would 
undertake to push the sale through agents here and 
who would be in a better position than I am to say 
what the chances of a sale might be. f 
I should add that the figures which I have given 
above only apply to Angora and immediate district. 
There are two other centres and the province, rV;., 
Caesarea and Yazfjat, at which the estimate annaal 
consumption amounts to some .£500, respectively. 
The port through which Caesarea obtains is tea 
is, I am told, Mersina in the Mediterranean , that 
for Yuzgat Sumsoun on the Black Sea. If dtsired I 
will endeavour to obtain samples of the teit.s used 
at these two places with prices and particulars 
attached as in samples endorsed in pres nt letter. 
I am, dear Sir, Yours very faithfully, ( .d.) H. S. 
Shipley. 
H.B.M. Consulate, Damascus, Turkey, 3CIA Janu- 
ary, 1899. 
Gentlemen, — With reference to your letter of the 
7th ultimo asking me to give you information about 
the consumption of British-grown tea in this pro- 
vince I have to inform you that about 100 boxes 
of Indian tea are consumed yearly in Damascus and 
district, each box containing from 1001b. to 1321b. 
Of China tea the yearly consumption is so small 
that it is hardly worth mentioning, perhaps 2 or 3 
boxes similar in size to those in which ludian 
tea is imported. 
The habit of tea drinking is undouhtediy grovnng 
in this city and the few towns which are comprised 
within the limits of the province, but as the greater 
part of it (the province) is inhabited by Bedouins, 
Druses, Circassians, and other wild and semi-civilized 
races to the great majority of whom tea is a novelty 
as well as a luxury, its consumption is necessarily 
very restricted. 
I am forwarding to you by this po.st four different 
samples of tea, being the kinds for which there is 
most demand here, of which the prices (wholesale) 
range as you will see from 9d. to Is. IJd. per pound. 
The wholesale price of China tea, on the other hand, 
ranges from Is. to 4s. the pound. 
As regards packing, I am given to understand that 
the boxes, which, as stated above contain from 110 
to 1321b., are tin lined. 
The import duty on tea, as on all other articles 
imported into the Ottoman Empire, is 8 per cent. 
ad valorem. 
The further development of the trade is not likely, 
considering the rough and uncivilized character of 
the majority of the inhabitants, to be either rapid 
or extensive. On the other hand, it is undeniable 
that such consumption of tea as exists has made 
vei'y rapid strides in the towns of late years. 
