Total $33,000,000 Exports Abroad Last Year Chungking, June 11.
Of 800,600 cases of tea, bought and paid for by the Foreign Trade Commission of the Chinese Government in 1938, about half was sold to various foreign markets, while. 264,000 cases were shipped abroad to barter for war and construction materials, it was officially revealed here today. It is estimated that China, in 1938, exported quantities of tea to a value of over $23,000,000.
By order of the Ministry of Finance, the Foreign Trade Commission controls the entire tea industry of Chin: taking charge of all local market purchases, and export, in ce-operation with the China National Tea Corporation. The latter is a $2,000,000 concern, founded jointly by Government bankers and tea merchants in May, 1937.
The Tea Commission has ordered 96,000 cases of black brick tea and 48,000 cases of green brick tea for export to Soviet Russia. In addition, 68,000 cases of Fu tea, 1,500 cases of black brick tea, and 1,500 cases of Sa Mien brick tea were, bought for export to the Soviet.
Another order, calling for 205,000 cases of brick tea, was also received from the Soviet, but the Commission failed to fill the order, owing to the approach of the hostilities to the brick tea producing centres on the Hunan-Hupeh border.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.