564 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [Feb. 1. 190i. 
JAPAN TEA AND THE THREATENED 
WAR. 
SALE ISf AMRRICA. AND EUROPE. 
The Central Chamber of the Tea Guilcip, Yoko- 
hama, has received a teleoram, diitad January 
9, from its branch ar, New York to the eS^ci 
'that owing to the alarming news coming fiom 
the Far Lnst, the demand for tea has giBritly 
increased, but that the quotation has not advanced. 
The American importers of tea seem to be specu- 
lating on a possible decrease of imports in time 
of war. 
The Central Chamber of Tea Guilds can be 
congratulated on the expansion of its business 
abroad. A report just to hand has it that the 
Paris Branch of the Chamber recently made 
an arrangement with a certain tea company in 
Belgium, whereby the latter agreed to undertake 
the trial sale of Japanese tea on the European 
markets. The Belgian establishment above 
referred to, is said to possess upwards of one 
hundred tea shops in Belgium and France, and 
to be forwarding samples of green tea to South 
Africa at present. — Japan Times, Jan. 16. 
Brazil export duties and ceylon 
RUBBER. 
The prospeclus of one of the new rubber planting 
companies in Ceylon, in pointing out reasons for 
anticipating good profits, mentions the advantage 
which they expect to have over the shippers of 
rubber from Brazil, where an export duty of 23 
Eer ceut ad valorem is imposed. It might have 
een added, says the India Rubber World, Ja,a. 1st, 
that there is no probability that the Brazilian 
rubber states will cease to levy a tax on exports 
within the lifetime of the Ceylon planters ; it is 
practically their sole source of revenue today, and 
there is no present prospect of anything to take its 
place. Regarding the extra tax on rubber at 
ManAosfor the benefit of the Bauco Amazonense, 
the governor of the state was requested recently 
by the federal government to use his good officer for 
the abolition of the tax, and he refused on the 
ground that the bank is a useful institution. 
THE DISTRIBUTION OB CEYLON'S EXPORTS. 
We drew attention recently to the immense 
development there had been during last year 
in the volume of most of our exports, as shown 
from the comparative statement for ten 
years published by the Chamber of Com- 
merce. The annual corollary to the dis- 
cussion of those statistics has been a con- 
eideration of the Distribution of our pro- 
ducts ; but this has had to be postponed 
owing to the pressure of more urgent 
subjects. It is well not to let these supple- 
mentary comments drop out as, apart from 
their utility for reference— especially as pre- 
served in the Tropical Agriculturist, which 
is being more widely appreciated every 
year— a study of the figures should be 
helpful to the mercantile community, and 
others interested in pushing the products 
of the island in new markets, and in de- 
veloping business in countries in which a 
foothold has already been established. 
We have already published the figures 
for exports of Ceylon Tep, last year, to the 
several countries which draw their supplies 
from the island, and noted the development 
of the trade as compared with 1902. It may 
be useful to reproduce the figures for 10 
years ago, as compared with last year, in 
order to illustrate the wonderful 'growth 
there has been in our great staple :— 
Black Tea Green Tea 
1893 1903 1903 
lb. Ic. lb. 
To U. Emgdom 75,500,077 95,7(16,821 1,009,682 
,, Au^ria ... 7,190 69,635 
„ Belgium ... 3,509 3 52,859 2,572 
„ France ... 27,992 461,237 5 750 
„ Germany ... 225,686 551,886 6 368 
„ Holland ... 10,818 23,.361 
„ Italy ... 9,097 20,027 
„ Russia ... 53,272 14,277,113 143,727 
„ Spain ... 37,513 9,360 
„ Sweden .. 3,650 98,503 2 850 
„ Turkey ... 8,434 56,430 
„ India .. 964,104 481,222 8,475 
„ Australia ... 6,968,956 19,758,953 40) 
„ America ... 112,440 6,503,643 7,430 487 
„ Africa . ... 114,857 601,088 
„ China .. 188,099 3,036,704 23,754 
„ Singapore ... 21,906 216,001 
,, Mauritius ... 110,079 77,782 
„ Malta ,. 38,435 380,020 13.599 
84,406,064 142,472,345 8,647,664 
The fcict that strikes one, even more than 
the great increase in the quantities taken 
by some countries, is the very moderate 
growth in the exports to the mother country. 
Where the quantity produced has well-nigh 
doubled— from 84 million lb. to 151 million 
lb,, it will at once be seen that the United 
Kingdom has not had her fair share in 
taking 96 million lb. (including Blacks and- 
Greens), against 75 millions ten years ago. 
Indeed, we had sent her more than she 
had last year in 1897, in which year she 
took nearly 99 million lb — her demands 
increasing until she had 113| million lb. in 
1900 ; but since then she has had less and less 
each year. And this is not because her home 
consumption has diminished— it has appreci- 
ably increased— but because we have found 
it to our advantage to send our teas else- 
where, and to deal directly with the foreigner 
and the Colonist. Here is one instance of 
how trade may be lost quite independently 
of fiscal systems and protective duties, which 
Mr Chamberlain may well lay to heart. True 
the Imperial Duty on tea has been raised 
for War purposes; bub that is not the 
only reason why we send less to London 
—it is also because its Monopolists com- 
bine to keep down prices, and other 
countries feel themselves able to walk 
(and buy) without outside aid. The far 
heavier duty which is imposed by her on 
tea has not stood in the way of Russia 
increasing her purchases from us from 53,000 
lb. to million nearly. But India, next door 
to us, takes only a half of what she did ten 
years ago, thanks to the short sighted policy 
which shuts out Indian tea from the local 
market whose development is hindered by 
the Import Duty which finds support natu- 
rally from London buyers like the Mazawatti 
Company and, curiously, from a majority of 
the Planters' Association, 
