SHORT SUPPLIES OF TEA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16657, 29 September 1917, Page 8

SHORT SUPPLIES OF TEA.

POSITION IN AUCKLAND.

EFFECT OF LACK OF SHIPPING.

Supplies of tea in Auckland warehouses are running fairly low.lhere having been very little landed since August. Tho cargo service from Ceylon ismuchredijced, and when the service is interrupted the market there is badly unsettled, owing to the difficulty of banking institutions in financing Eastern credits. The arrival of a gteamer, however, clears up the situa, tion, the demand from America and Russia being very keen. In view of the recent advance in oversea freight rates, and the unsettled state of the tea business in Ceylon, together with the cessation for several weeks of steamers from Australia with New Zealand tea transhipments, local merchants are viewing the future with serious consideration. Resumption of shipping on normal lines would steady conditions, but that is a somewhat remote contingency. Prior to the war, supplies of tea arrived weekly in* New Zealand, but latterly the buying instructions have had to bs altered to meet tho new conditions. Auckland merchants have a considerable amount of tea in Australia awaiting shipment. Some local firms have a moderate amount of duty-free tea in store, and unless supplies arrive from overseas very soon these stocks will [ have to be drawn upon. •