BUSINESS IN EAST

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 70, 15 December 1932, Page 8

BUSINESS IN EAST

Black Outlook for Rubber EXCESS OF TEA IS GROWN That business conditions in the East are more or less on a par with those in occidental countries, was the opinion of Mr. W. H. Shepherd, director and tea expert to the Bell Tea Company, who has just returned to New Zealand from a comprehensive tour of the Far East.

Mr. Shepherd’s mission to the teaproducing countries was to investigate the latest methods of tea manufacture and blending, also to order supplies of suitable tea for his company's New Zealand requirements. He was enthusiastic over the improvements that have taken place during the last few years, not only in the actual growing of the leaf but also in the manufacture. In Ceylon and India, he said, there were now research bureaux entirely devoted to the tea industry under the direction of specially trained chemists and tea experts. The better quality of tea now turned out by many pstates was due largely to the great assistance given bv the research bureaux.

’ Despite this improvement in the quality of tea, and also tiie slightly increased world consumption, there was still a great excess over requirements of tea being grown. On account of this tea planters in all the producing countries were experiencing very difficult times. Mr. Shepherd said that most industries that have dependence on th? western world were more or less hard hit. He cited the rubber industry and mentioned having seen many plantations practically deserted and going back to jungle, while others were employing merely sufficient labour to keep the weeds' down, no tapping at all going on. The outlook for the rubber industry in the meantime was very black indeed. . , uMr. Shepherd’s itinerary took him through Burma, the Federated Malay States and Java.