Passing Through a Crisis: Rays of Hope in a Depressing Situation The trade reports for Santuao and foochow, compiled by the Maritime Customs, present a most enlightening, and despite the grave times through which trade has been passing during the last year a reassuring, estimate of conditions in Fukien.
The net value of trade in Foochow, according to statistics, was Hk. Tls. 25,612,810, as compared with Hk. Ts. 20,740,234 in 1919, which, the report remarks, goes far to dispel the gloomy forebodings of "those who are wont to compare present time with those of the good old days.""
The respective reports for Santuao and Foochow both deal at length with the depression in the foreign tea trade—once Foochow's glory. This trade with foreign countries is described as passing through the worst crisis in its history. In the case of Santuao, the drop in that port's revenue of Hk. Tls. 80.417 below the previous year's total is attributed to the decreased shipments of tea, as well as the falling off in- the trade in camphor and camphor a is, however, point®d out that Foochow teas, are not dependent on foreign countries for a market. There will alway: a demand for green varieties in north China. In Santuao, the distributing centre for most of the tea harvested in tha northern section of the province of Fukien, shipments of black tea (leaf) decreased from 37,916 piculs in 1919 to 10,747 piculs in 1919, but green tea increased from 68,011 to 84,103 piculs.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.