TEA AND COFFEE

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 63, 16 March 1933, Page 12

TEA AND COFFEE

RIVAL BEVERAGES

WORLD'S CONSUMPTION

Economists hold that one of the most reliable indications of the standard of living of a people of any country is the amount of "conventional necessaries" consumed by those people. Tho reason for this contention is obvious. The first, charge on the incomes of most people is the amount of food, clothing, and shelter necessary for their existence, and after these have been provided for the spender as a general rule turns his attention to those commodities which should help (but never do) to give him peace of mind. "With the balance of his cash he may buy tobacco, fruit, beverages (alcoholic and otherwise), and he may even go so far as to consider paying outstanding doctors' bills. Shoulcl he still have a surplus he may indulge himself in the luxury of books, pictures or gramophones. ' '

Classed under the heading of "conventional necessaries" (commodities which are not essential for the subsistence of life, but which are in wide spread daily use) are the non-alcoholic beverages, tea and coffee, and to a lesser extent cocoa, and an interesting survey of their production and uses is contained in reports presented to the British Parliament in 1931. The stimulating value of tea and coffee, stated one of the reports depends much on the same property in each case. Heneo they are largely competitive—the nations of the world being largely coffee drinkers or ten, drinkers. The reasons for such preference are not altogether clear. The strong political and financial ties between England and India may partly account for Britain's strong preference for tea. It is » probable that tho tradition and the organisation, of marketing are responsible for the preference for tea or coffee rather than any innate characteristics on the part of the consumer. There is an illustrative example in the case of Canada and the United States of America. Although the tastes of- the peoples of these two countries are very similar, in most directions, there is a striking difference when it comes to tea and coffee. Canada consumes about 41b of tea per head per annum, while America is primarily a coffee-drinking country. It is held that the expansion of coffee-drinking in the United States was inaugurated by an extensive advertising campaign, and that advertising and careful marketing did much to extend the Canadian tea sales. Tea in most countries is the cheaper drink of the two. The Imperial Economic Committee's report on tea contained the following table showing the consumption of tea in certain countries:— Total Consumption consumption per head United Kingdom ...... *""& lbs)• <"■>• United States so 7 Russia ni r India ;; „ i Australia "■■" 4, B -f Canada "" ™ H Xcw Zealand ......"" %f> H Germany j? i, Franc° ••• ::: i :i It will be seen from the above table that there seems to be considerable scope for expanding the demand for tea in thoiUnited States, Russia, and India The committee also furnished the' following estimates of the tea exports ot the principal countries for 1929: India . Inm«n°? lb\ ..Java and Sumatra ','.'..'.'.'.'.' 1613 China ..' j3q Other ■countries /... '.'.'. 3(5(5 1 ' COPFEE CONSTJMEKS. The committee's research into coffee revealed that the Americans tire the chief coSce-consuming nation (121b per capita per year). They are closely followed by the Dutch, Belgians, and Ireneh. -It is estimated that the Americans consume over one half of the Brazilian and nearly one hall of the world's supply. The estimated exports of tho principal coffee-producing countries in 1920 were:— , ■ Millions of ■R. n7 ,l bags of 1321b. Brazil -140 Colombia -' ,! Dutch East Indies is.-. British Emplro A Costa Bica "" '{% Other countries ...I'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. i.s Brazil, which is responsible for nearly 60 per cent, of \the coffee exports, vainly endeavoured to prevent a collapse of the price level, but the huge crop of 1930 dislocated the market and huge quantities of coffeo ' were destroyed. _ Since 1913 thero has boon a steady increase in the-demand for cocoa This may be partly due to the fact that the low wholesale prices have been passed on to the consumer. The consumption in 1931 was 522,000 tons, an increase ot 136,000 over the previous year. The United States usually absorbs about 35 per cent, of the world output. About 60 per cent, of the output is grown in Africa, and about 35 per cent in Central and South America.