Himalayan Times (1959)

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jHimiilaijKU tTimeo

July 12, 1959

FROM ASSAM GARDEN TO LONDON
TEAPOT IN UNDER 2 WEEKS

In juit a few hours
less than two weeks, a
British company has bro-
ught tea from an Assam
garden to a teapot in a
London office

The Moran Tea Co.
Ltd. established this re-
cord last week when it
flew a consignment of
one ton of tea from its
plantations in the far
north of Assam to Lon-
don. The consignment,
standard medium quality
second flush tea, was flown
to meet London demand
for tea of this quality.
It is valued at about
U 1,000. >~

Moran Tea is one of
the pioneer Assam com-
panies, and has been
growing tea there since
1864.

The managing direc-
tor of company, Mr. T. Q.
Gordon Smith, claims that
this is the first commer-
cial shipment of tea by
air from India. The idea
was first suggested during
the time of ■ Suez Canal
orisis, he said in an in.
terview, when airoraft
were delivering goods to
India and sometimes re-
turning empty. At that
time, however, the. freight
charges were not a oom-

meroial proposition. Now
a special rate has been
fixed at about 2s 6d a lb.
inolusive for tbe air trip
from Geuhati (Assam) to
Calcutta, and then on to
London.

Normally, tea ship
ments from Assam to
London oust about 6d a
lb. for produce sent to
Calcutta by air and then
on to London by steamer,
or 3d a lb. sent by river
steamer to Calcutta and
then on to London by
sea, allowing about 16
weeks for the whole
journey.

Mr. Gordon-Smith
turned up shipment re-
cords of nearly a oentury
ago for the earliest dis-
patches of tea from As-
sam. Then the company'a
tea was one of tbe car-
goes carried in the his-
toric "Indieman" clipper
raoes from Calcutta to
London. The time for the
Calcutta-London trip then
was about six month—a
far cry from the 20 hours
required for the airborne
cargo.

Mr, Gordon-Smith said
that the experiment bad
proved a great suooess,
and would be repeated
from time to time. The

TIBETAN REFUGEES
TO GET TO WORK
> Gangtok, July 5.

A oonvoy of 13 trucks
and two buses brought
in the first group of 271/
Tibetan refugees from In-
dia today. Screened at
fiuxa and selected special-
ly tor Sikkim, they are
to be employed in a few
days nn the North Sikkim
highway, now under com
triioliou There are 14
women and six children.
Two of the refugees, who
were siok, were admitted
into the hospital.

Tbe refugees looked
bappy and relieved. 'Ihey
were served wiih tea and
a meal by the Sikkim
Refugees Committee on
their arrival this after-
noon at Deorali oamp,
ne<r tbe ropewjfy station.
A weloome address was
delivered. Aiked if the
treatment at Misamari
and Buxa camps were
good, they said . they did
not expeet any better
but the kindneee ehown
by the Indians was warm
and epontaneoue-

consignment is to be used
for blending

Tbe company eaoh
years sells about 3 000,
000 lb. of tea on the
London market, and ano
tber 2,000,000 lb. on the
Caloutta market.