"TIGHTNESS" IN TEA

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue LXXXVIII, 10 September 1914, Page 8

"TIGHTNESS" IN TEA

MERCHANTS UNABLE TO OBTAIN SUPPLIES COLOMBO AUCTIONS REOPEN AND PROSPECTS BRIGHTER. Cabled advice received by a wholesale firm of tea merchants in Wellington today states .that the Colombo auctions, whence Australia draws practically the whole of its tea supplies, were reopened on Tuesday last, after having been closed for fiye weeks on account, of the war. Instead of the usual amount of between 2,000,000 and 3,000,0001b5, only 1,000,OOOlbs were offered for sale. Small quantities were bought for New Zealand, but the difficulty in getting freights makes it almost an impossibility for the orders' to be executed. 'There will be only freightings once a fortnight by the P. and 0. and Orient boats, which are not likely to carry sufficient supplies for Australia and New Zealand. Written communications just received from the firm's headquarters in Sydney state: — "At the present time there is not one- packet of .Ceylon tea held in Sydney, and two or three lines only of Java teas. Blenders in Australia are getting very scared about supplies, and it is quite apparent to us that the market will be very bad for some time J ahead, owing to the German mail steamers being such large carriers -from Colombo." Further advice states that the BritishIndia line's steamer Janus, which took fire off Albany, had -aboard 750,0001b of tea— all totally destroyed. Aboard the N.D.L. liner Roon. now sheltering at Java, however, there is £50,000 worth of Colombo tea, and arrangements have been made for its delivery. It will not be, possible to get this tea down for two months yet, and it is not expected that a large quantity of it will find its way to New Zealand. Notwithstanding the temporary "tightness" being experienced with regard to supplies 'in the local markets, the indications, (one tea merchant states) are that they will be normal before many weeks have passed, as the Australian merchants are making arrangements to send a special steamer up to Colombo for supplies.