Evening star., 1933-10-15
Plan Export Limitations
To Raise Price of Tea.
BY HARDEN COLFAX.

Tea, which, with coffee and sugar,
makes up what the British budget calls
the triangle Of breakfast necessities"
has now also become involved in the
vicious circle of overproduction with
low prices, followed by restriction of
output. rising prices and consequent
increased production. and then falling
prices again. It is the same old story
which has had to be told of schemes
to control coffee in Brazil and sugar
in Cuba.
The American people spent more
than $4,000, 600 for tea in 1882, or at
least that was the value of our i'm
ports of that beverage. Therefore,
whatever happens to tea in the way
of control of restriction of output is of
real importance to us. Price Is sure
to be affected in the end.
Federal Government representatives
advised Washington this week that the
tea growers of British India, Ceylon and
the Dutch East Indies had agreed upon
a standing committee, composed OF
leaders in the tea industry, to admin.
ister the restriction agreement recently
concluded
Falling prices, deprecated exchanges
and the confusion in world markets
the gold standard by the principal COM
mercial nations have made the tea
planters realize that their first line Of
attack against loss is not only the cul-
tivatlon of new markets abroad and the
stimulation of consumption at home,
but some general egreement to control
output as well as exports.
In the face of much opposition it
was agreed that the three principal
black tea producing countries, British
India, Ceylon and the Dutch East
Indies, should organize control of all
exports of tea. All the large associa-
tions OF growers in these countries signed
the agreement, which is to be in force
active to April /, 1888, when the har-
vest in the British growing countries
began. The percentage of exports will
be decided upon each year, the figure
for the harvest Of the present year
being IS per cent.
Due to different local conditions each
country is left free to devise its own
scheme of restriction. but each will
require some sort of permit for export.
The agreement provides that produc-
ton in each of the three signatory
countries is to be based on the maxi
mum exports for each in any of the
tiucc years 1873, tSoU anu 1881. Inc
Administering Committee has Offices in
London, the world distributing center
for tea.
Estates in all the black tea producing
countries-the green tea producers,
China, Japan and Formosa. are not so
badly affected-have been suffering
from low prices for several years. A
number Of futile attempts have been
made to curtan output Attention,
however, was chiefly directed, as in the
case Of coffee In Brazil and sugar in
Cuba, toward controlling exports, no
particular concern being felt over home
consumption. The restrictions on ex-
ports resulted in piling up stocks at
home.
In the four-year period from 1929 to
1888 the importation of tea into the
United States increased by several
million pounds. Per capita consump-
ton also has advanced. While, in the
opinion Of tea experts, it will prob
ably always be a vexatious problem to
find out how to make America drink
more tea, advertising will do a whole
lot" American tea packers, incidental
ly. are now well under the Blue Eagle,
the Tea Association Of America having
submitted its code several weeks ago.
(CODyriRht 1Q33N