TEA PRICES.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 February 1920, Page 5

TEA PRICES.

NO INDICATIONS OF BIG RISE The following excerpt from the Bljitiih, Export Journal of December is of gener* i al interest:— _ ,j During tho first fortnight of the month} under review the market continued harden until a fresh advance of fuljjp £d"j per lb. was registered, the comjhon ,' mules again being chiefly affected,; though high-class Indians also p&rtldv pated in the full advance. The «cep* tional good quality of this season'l In*. dian teas—which is partly attributed to the slow growth of the bushes daring;' the drought of the early summerf-haej undoubtedly created a taste for; fin*; tea; hence'tho seemingly fancy' jirieeo; realised, which should stimulate Riant-,: ors to grow more of these very desir*s able grades. • » Towards the middle of distinct change in the market beganjtojS assert itself, and this was aceentlUK as the days passed by, until at tbealoM the whole of the initial advance wnf> lost and a lower level of price* eriab* ; lished. Such a movement was. not MP*-'. prising, considering the many weeks) previously values had been steadier ad* vancing. ."' '] As it was the strongest feature be*-.; fore, so common lea became the liNli'tf est, selling down to Is 4d, while tiwt* iaj now plenty of good ordinary Pekoe) $/m<\ Pekoe Souchong to bo had under la in,with medium class ranging fronj l( Bff| to Is Kid. Last ■week's average for »U;) the Indian sold under the hammer' «|)i Is 1 l-Bd, Ceylon Is 7Jd, and Java' ant ; Sumatra Is 4|d per lb. . . ;■ The Tea Brokers' Association of lon* don points out that keen trade cottpeV. tit ion has resulted in the pubHe fos; some time past being able to J»jfc'teiK ; under the wholesale average price, <tuutj that these conditions have probably in. some measure furthered connunpiion/br.t they could not continue mw&H 1 , itely, and the reduction of 2d to 84 per lb. in the wholesale cosi) is * ftdn»able asset for all branches of the dIM tributing trade. In view of the increase of 7i f0.,-Bcl per lb in the cost of production, eelfersr 'will, however, naturally not welflOßje much further fall in prices. " ) The Board of Trade returns fji** the? deliveries of all tea during October a« i 40,0C0,0001b, which compares with 29,--; 400,0001b in October, 1918, while for*, the past ten months the total deliveries have been 354,707,0001b, as cOMpue*' with 284,344,0001b in the sameJgrtod j last year—an increase of 90,40Q#fSb. _■' Lastest auction prices j Broken Orange Pekoe, Is 7id to «S 1 Orange Pekoe, Is to 4s; Pekoe' So- ; chong, Is 4Jd to Is BJd; Broken Pekoes, « Is 6d to 2s ljd; and Pekoes, Is C& to ' la »y 4 d. Ceylon: 3d; 0.P.. Is Cd to la- B|d; P.S., Is 4}& to Is s|d; 8.P., Is 5Jd to Is lOd; P-, U 5d to Is SJd. Java and Bumatra:, . 80.P.4, Is 4d to la Uidj and.B.P, \% \ 41d to Is 5d lb. !'" ' '!!.'■ 1