Tea Production and Tea Restriction

Abstract

C HINA is still the world's largest tea producer, but whereas some 50 years ago it supplied by far the greatest part of the world demand, its present share in the trade is comparatively small. The greater part of China's tea crop is consumed at home; the relatively small quantity exported goes mostly to Asiatic countries in the form of what is known as green tea, and China's considerable export to the Soviet Union has declined heavily since the Sino-Russian conflict of i929-30. The tea acreage of China is unknown. That of the other producing countries totals 8I5,000 hectares, and the most important exporters are British India, with 40 per cent of the total acreage, Ceylon with 24 per cent, Netherlands-India with 2i per cent, and Japan and Formosa with io per cent. The remaining five per cent is divided among territories of minor importance. The industry has developed rapidly in the three leading countries since i919, especially in Netherlands-India, where the acreage of estate tea, grown on the plantations of Dutch or European owners, increased by 40 per cent between i919 and I93I, while the acreage planted by natives increased by 92 per cent. The British Indian acreage increased by I7 per cent in the same period, and that of Ceylon by 2i per cent. Production in Japan and Formosa has remained steady. Japan, like China, has its market primarily in Asia. It is the world market for black tea which is dominated by British India, Ceylon and Netherlands-India. Of the minor producing countries, the Soviet Union has actively promoted tea cultivation in the last few years, and production is expected to rise quickly. The present Soviet plan is to bring it to a level comparable with that of Ceylon, and to produce, after I938, enough for home consumption. Of the other secondary countries, only Kenya has increased its production in the last few years. The following tables offer a comparison of production figures from I923 to 1931: