Feu.  I,  1896.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
557 
PLANTING  AND  PKUDUCE. 
A Trade  Virw  of  Tea  in  189-5. — lu  the  course  of 
its  review  of  the  tea  trade  the  Grocer  says  : “In 
taking  a brief  view  of  the  history  of  the  tea  trade 
for  the  past  year  (1895),  it  cauuot  be  considered 
to  have  been  either  a profitable  or  satisfactory  one 
for  the  trade  generally.  Total  consumption  how- 
ever, has  been  good,  and  shows  an  increase 
of  nearly  4,000,000  lb.  Duty  payments  for  home 
consumption  have  increased  about  8,000,000  lb.  while 
exports  have  fallen  off  owing  to  Russia  and  the  Con- 
tinent having  imported  much  more  China  tea 
direct.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  high  rates 
ruling  for  the  first  half  of  the  year  for  Indians  and 
Ceylons,  our  deliveries  would  have  been  much 
heavier,  as  the  deliveries  of  Indian  tea  during 
that  iieriod  fell  off  3,000,000  lb.  Since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  new  season  and  lower  prices, 
our  deliveries  of  Indian  teas  are  on  a par  with  last 
year,  while  Ceylon  teas  have  increased  3, 000,0001b. 
I'-hina  teas  for  the  year  show  a small  increase  in 
the  deliveries,  and  would  have  been  mucli  greater  had 
not  the  exports  fallen  off.  Wc  may  take  it,  how- 
ever, that  home  consumption  of  China  tea  has 
increased  owing  fo  the  dearness  of  Indians  and 
Ceylons  at  one  part  of  the  year,  and  not  because 
the  public  taste  is  coming  back  to  it  out  of  choice, 
unfortunately.  It  has  been  a more  or  less  falling 
market  all  through  the  year,  and  the  losses  to  the 
dealers  on  their  Indian  stock  were  very  severe  in  the 
spring  and  summer  mouths.  The  general  trade  have 
found  it  a trying  and  difficult  market,  with  only  one 
short-lived  spurt  in  common  grades  in  the  autumn  to 
help  them  out  of  stale  stock.  Trade,  however,  has  been 
good  since  August,  and  now  that  we  have  every  pros- 
pect of  a low  range  of  prices  for  some  months  to  c nno 
we  trust  dealers  will  have  better  times  in  the  new  year. 
Owing  to  the  absence  of  any  Russian  demand  this  sea- 
son, importers  had  to  force  off  their  dearly-bought 
Monings  in  October  and  November;  the  result  has 
been  a drop  on  opening  rates  of  3d  per  lb.  on  teas 
up  to  9d,  and  4d  to  7d  per  lb.  on  the  best.  China 
exports  arc  expected  to  be  about  8,000,UU01b.  less 
than  last  season,  so  that  we  shall  not  have  too 
much  tea  from  that  quarter ; if  the  present  low 
I'auge  of  value  brings  in  an  export  demand,  which 
is  more  than  ju'obablc  in  the  new  year,  we  are 
likely  to  run  very  short,  and  there  may  be  some 
nice  profits  going  for  those  who  have  been  bold 
enough  to  buy  in  the  panic.  An  export  from  India, 
however,  of  1‘23,U00,00U  lb.  is  more  than  we  want,  and 
if  this  estimate  is  confirmed  the  price  of  common 
teas  ought  to  keep  very  low.  On  the  .other  hand, 
no  common  teas  are  coming  from  China,  and 
a large  quantity  of  the  lower  grades  of  Ceylon 
arc  being  shipped  direct  to  the  colonies, 
&c.  Low  prices  of  Indians  and  Ceylons  also  attract 
Continental  buyers,  and  other  markets  may  be  found 
to  absorb  the  otherwise  alarming  surplus  of  supplies. 
Ceylon  imports  and  deliveries  for  the  year  keep  very 
evenly  balanced,  each  year  showing  continued  in- 
creases wliicli  even  high  rates  cannot  stop,  whereas 
Indian  tea  is  immediately  affected  by  a high  market 
for  common  grades.  Figures  look  healthy,  and  we 
shall  commence  the  new  year  with  about  the  same 
stock  BS  1695.  Prices  are  on  a very  safe  level,  trade 
is  improving,  and  we  may  confidently  expect  that 
dealers  will  have  a more  prosperous  new  year.  ’ 
Indian  Tea  in  1895. — The  consumption  for  the  hrst 
six  months  of  the  year  fell  off  4,000,000  lb.  on  ac- 
count of  the  high  prices  ruling  for  common  grades, 
but  no  doubt  this  loss  will  be  partly  recovered  by 
the  end  of  the  year,  owing  to  the  fact  that  of  late 
the  value  of  Indian  tea  has  been  much  better  to 
the  consumer  than  Ceylon  tea,  and  it  is  being  used 
more  freely  in  consequence.  The  total  consumption 
for  the  season  1894-95  was  114tf  million  pounds,  or 
say  l,O00,0OU  lb.  less  than  1893-94.  while  the  im- 
port for  the  season  was  115,000,000  lb.  or  1,000  000  lb. 
more.  The  export  of  Indian  tea  from  London  to 
other  countries  is  just  under  4,000,000  lb.  or  some 
half  a million  more  than  in  1894.  There  was  a very 
fair  business  done  for  the  first  half  of  1895,  and  owing 
to  the  scarcity  of  common  tea,  prices  opened  hij^h 
this  class,  or,  sa^,  a quotation  ot  to  per 
lb.  which  strengthened  for  the  first  two  or  three 
months,  but  afterwards  gradually  fell  away  in  May 
and  June.  The  weight  of  the  supplies  was  in 
medium  to  fine  grades,  owing  to  the  crop 
having  been  a very  good  one,  and  prices 
dropped  very  considerably.  Dealers  were  lauded 
with  a heavy  stock  of  this  class.  No- 
body wanted  them,  and  the  consequence  has  been 
serious  losses  to  holders,  who  could  only  get  out  of 
their  holdings  by  degrees,  the  hquidation  of  which 
took  them  well  into  the  new  season’s,  and  almost 
any  price  had  to  be  accepted  from  those  who  were 
willing  to  relieve  them  of  their  stock.  Quality  fell 
off  towards  the  end  of  the  season,  and  finest  being 
scarce,  were  well  competed  for  at  firm  prices  right 
up  to  the  end.  It  is  very  unlucky  that  the  new  crop 
of  1895-93  has  turned  out  a very  poor  one,  as  the 
low  prices  ruling  in  May  to  July  for  good  medium 
to  fine  old  season’s  made  it  almost  impossible  to  get 
offers  for  similar  grades  of  the  new  crop  within  3d 
to  Id  per  lb.  of  the  Calcutta  cost  on  arrival.  The 
first  sales  of  new  teas  were  held  on  June 
l(>,  and  opened  slightly  over  the  previous  season. 
(Quality,  however,  was  so  poor  that  there  was 
a very  dragging  market,  with  drooping  prices 
until  September  9,  when  an  improvement  in 
demand  and  prices  for  common  grades — and,  in 
fact,  for  all  good  liquoring  teas — raised  values  very 
materially.  Unluckily  the  improvement  in  value 
of  eonimon  grades  only  lasted  a month  a telegram 
from  t.'alcutta  being  received  on  October  9th  with 
the  news  of  a probable  export  of  124,000,000  lb  for  the 
season.  An  increased  export  of  8,0t)0,000  lb  could  only 
mean  a glut  of  common  tea,  and  heavy  auctions  for  the 
rest  of  the  year  have  reduced  the  quotations  of 
Pekoe  Souchongs  to  5jd  and  fine  and  medium  Pekoes 
to  6d  to  7id  (the  latter  are  said  to  nave  never  been 
so  cheapi,  and  these  rates  are  drving  them  freely 
into  consumption.  Wo  have  already  received  about 
8,000,000  lb  more  of  the  new  crop,  luit  if  the  revised 
estimate  of  123,000,  lb  is  confirmed,  the  stock- 
next  year  will  be  greatly  increased,  as  the 
deliveries  for  the  year  still  show  a falliue 
off  from  1891.  Prices  of  common  grades  will 
doubtless  still  tend  downwards,  as  the  surplus  con- 
sists of  this  class ; deliveries,  however,  will  probably 
increase  materially,  and  show  up  well  against  the 
first  six  months  of  1895,  when  prices  ruled  2d  over 
present  rates  for  common  to  medium  kinds.  Good 
medium  to  hnc  Pekoes  and  broken  Pekoes  from  9d 
to  Is  3d  improved  almost  imperceptibly  for  the  last 
three  months  of  the  year,  the  improvement  amounting 
to  2d  and  3d  per  lb,  as  compared  with  the  lowest 
point ; finest  grades  from  Is  6d  up  nave  also  been  in 
small  supply,  and  have  brought  good  price.s,  quality 
considered.  The  outlook  is  not  a happy  one,'  bear- 
ing in  mind  the  estimated  crop  of  123,000,000 ’lb  and 
probable  increased  supplies  from  Ceylon ; low  prices 
may  certainly  increase  our  deliveries  to,  say  118  or 
120  million  pounds  next  year,  but  even  then  we 
shall  end  the  season  with  a much  larger  stock  than 
we  need. 
(Tylon  Tea. — This  most  popular  branch  of  the 
trade  continues  to  expand,  and  is  the  last  to  feel 
the  effects  of  high  prices  or  poorness  of  crop.  If  the 
island  could  turn  out  the  quantity,  it  is  thought  that 
its  deliveries  would  soon  take  precedence  of  In- 
dian tea.  In  1894  we  delivered  Ih  million  lb.  more 
than  in  1693,  and  this  year  the  increase 
amounts  to  over  4,000, OLX),  or  actually  “more 
than  we  have  imported.  The  increase  has  been  in 
the  last  half  of  the  year,  or,  say,  over  3,000,0001b 
more  than  our  Imports  from  Juno  1st.  The  bulk  of 
this  j'ear’s  supplies  have  been  very  poor  in  flavour 
and  quite  lacking  the  Ceylon  smack— mostly  bakey 
or  half  cured ; but  as  they  are  consumed  almost  as 
soon  as  they  arrive,  and  certain  people  must  have 
them,  however  poor  in  comparison  with  other  kinds, 
losses  on  bad  stock  are  not  often  very  serious,  A nota- 
ble feature  has  been  the  low  rates  that  have  ruled 
for  common  to  good  broken  pekoes  throughout  the 
year,  and  two  or  three  times  they  actually  got  down 
to  the  same  price  as  ordinary  leaf  teas.  Often  tlio 
breaks  of  pekoe  soachong  have  been  very  small  on 
account  of  colonial  buyers  taking  them  in  Colombo, 
Fail’  to  g’ood  pekoes  have  relatively  fetched  high  prices, 
