| England | 50,000,000 |
| United States | 20,000,000 |
| All other countries | 5,000,000 |
| 75,000,000 |
which, at 20 taels per picul (133 lbs.) amounts to 11,280,000 taels of silver at 80d. per tael, £3,760,000. The present Chinese duty of two taels five mace, does not include shipping and other charges; the old duty was five taels, and included all charges paid the Hong merchants. The export by sea is now about 97 millions of lbs.
The following was the returned value of the tea exported from the five Chinese ports in 1844 and 1845:—
| 1844. | 1845. | |
| Canton | £2,910,474 | £3,429,790 |
| Shanghae | 67,115 | 462,746 |
| Ningpo | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| Amoy | 544 | |
| Foo-chow-foo | 638 | |
| £2,979,589 | £3,895,718 |
The average cost of tea in China at the ship's side is 10d. per pound, while it is confidently asserted that it could be produced in many parts of America at 5d. the pound. The great cost in China is owing to the expensive transportation, the cultivation of the fuel used, the absence of all economy of machinery, &c. It is only by adulteration that tea is sold in China as cheap as 10d. In America the beating and rolling of the leaves (one half of the labor) could be done by the simplest machinery, fuel could be economised by flues, &c.
The Russian teas, brought by caravans, are the most expensive and best teas used in Europe. The Chinese themselves pay 7½ dollars per pound for the "Yen Pouchong" teas.
Full chests were exhibited in 1851, by Mr. Ripley, of various Pekoe teas, some of which fetch 50s. per lb. in the China market; whilst 7s. is the very highest price any of the sort will fetch in England, and this only as a fancy article. The plain and orange-scented Pekoes now fetch little with us; but as caravan teas, are purchased by the wealthier Russian families. The finest, however, never leave China, being bought up by the Mandarins; for though the transit expenses add 3s. to 4s. per lb. to the value when sold in Russia, the highest market price in St. Petersburg is always under 50s. Among these scented teas are various caper teas, flavoured with chloranthus flowers and the buds of some species of plants belonging to the orange tribe, magnolia fuscata, olea flowers, &c. The Cong Souchong, or Ning-young teas, are chiefly purchased for the American market. Oolong tea is the favourite drink in Calcutta, though less prized in England, its delicate flavor being injured by the length of the voyage. For delicacy, no teas, approach those usually called "Mandarin teas," which being slightly fired and rather damp when in the fittest state for use, will bear neither transport nor keeping. They are in great demand among the wealthy Chinese, and average 20s. per lb in the native market.—(Jury Reports.)
The consumption of tea in the United Kingdom may now be fairly taken at fifty-four million pounds yearly, and sold at an average price to the consumer of 4s. 6d., per pound. The money expended for tea is upwards of twelve millions sterling.
The expenditure of this sum is distributed as follows, in round numbers:—
| Net cost of 54,000,000 pounds, average 1s. per pound | £2,700,000 |
| Export duty in China of 1½d. a lb. | 337,500 |
| Shipping charges, &c., in China | 25,000 |
| Freight, &c., China to England, about 2d. per lb. | 450,000 |
| Insurance, ½d. per lb. | 112,500 |
| Commission, about ¼d. per lb. | 56,250 |
| Tasting charges, &c., about ⅛ of a penny per lb. | 28,125 |
| Interest for 6 months on £3,709,375 at 5 per cent. | 92,734 |
| Total outlay in China | £3,802,109 |
| Profit to exporters in China, (about 12 per cent.) | 445,116 |
| Landing charges, &c., in England | 39,000 |
| Cost price in bond in England | £4,286,225 |
| Duty received by government at 2s. 2½. per lb., about | 5,985,482 |
| £10,271,707 | |
| Profit divided among tea-brokers, wholesale and retail dealers, &c. | 1,878,293 |
| Total outlay by British public for tea, at 4s. 6d. per lb. | £12,150,000 |