SHORT SUPPLIES OF TEA.

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15340, 1 October 1917, Page 7

SHORT SUPPLIES OF TEA.

POSITION IN AUCKLAND. EFFECT OF LACK OF SHIPPING. Supplies of tea in Auckland warehouses are running .fairly low, there having been very little landed since August, says the Herald. The cargo service frbm Ceylon is much reduced, and when thu serivec is interrupted the market there is badly unsettled, owing to th§ difficulty of banking institutions in financing Easter credits. . Tne arrival of a steanier, however, clears up the situation, the demand from America and Russia- being very keen. In view of the recent advance in oversea freight and the unsettled state of the tea business m 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 ot shipping on normal Hues would steady conditions, but that is a somewhat remote contingency. Prior to the war, supplies of tea arrived weekly m Jsew Zealand, but latterly the buying instructions have had to be , altered to meet the new conditions. Auckland merchants have a considerable amount of tea in Australia awaitu% shipment. feome 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. /