THE TEA WE DRINK

Evening Star, Issue 18173, 13 January 1923, Page 3

THE TEA WE DRINK

RISE IN PRICES

WEATHER- CONDITIONS RESPONSIBLE.

The manager of a. large tea importing company informed a ‘ Star ’ reporter today that for some time past the price of tea in the producing countries has boon steadily increasing, until to-day a point has been reached when packers of out standard teas cannot continue to supply the public at prices that have been ruling for some two years past. “The London market, which, really controls the tea markets of the world,” he stated, “has shown considerable advances of late, the lower grades advancing, some 7d to 8d per pound, whilst the liner kinds have advanced at least 6di per pound, and theio is every indication that during the next three months the present extreme prices will stall further advance. There are several reasons for the jfteseut high prices, but the main one. is certainly tho advcn-0 clitiuibio conditions tluit heivo pro\pilod in tbo Indian and <jeylon tea-producing districts during the past twelve months, and, to some small extent, the shortage <>> colio labor in India and Ceylon has affected the position.” Our informant further pointed out that owing to the bad producing weather the Indian, crop for 11)22 was smaller than that of 1921 by, roughly, fifty million pounds of tea. The Ceylon crop was also short about twenty mil Lion pounds, making a. total shortage in these two producing countries of seventy million pounds. As the great bulk of tea produced ia sold) at weekly auctions, it can be readily understood that there is keener comjiotition for the quantity that is available, and therefore higher prices. During the pant few years prices have steadily advanced, until to-day it was found that teas that in 1914 were costing 42 cents per pound were to-day bringing 128 cents in the Colombo and London auctions. to the local position, there were in New Zealand a great number of tea and general merchants -distributing tea, and_compotition was therefore very keen, and up to the present these merchants had been making their supplies go as far as possible and had not increased their prices, even though they had been trading at a small loss. They had been hoping that there would soon be some indication of a drop in prices, but it was now certain that no drop in prices could possibly taka place until the new Indian season was fairly opened in about June cr July next. Some weeks ago Australian packers realised that prices could not come back for some time, and all the principal packet teas in Aua-