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c) Totally different techniques may be considered once
specialist machinery from Williames in Australia is
available. Planting costs are of course dramatically
reduced. Plants shortage tends to be our limiting factor,
at the start of trials Tregothnan faced a severe shortage
of any material.
6) Establishment Costs
7) The long establishment assumes suitable plant procurement
is successful. Typically 4-5 years are required to establish
the plants in the final position. A light harvesting
(skiffing) from year 4 may lead to light harvesting
in year 5/6 and then with increasing volumes each year.
An optimum may be achieved after 8 years and then continues
for many decades, sometimes exceeding a century. In
trial stages £85,000/ha may be expected over 5 years.
Plants may be up to £10 each.
8) What types of tea to grow
a) It appears that tea Camellia sinensis cultivars suitable
for black and green tea can be grown. There is no exact
science. We are at the stage of discovery and once the
horticultural pioneers have established gardens scientific
study can progress. There are acute plant supply problems
within the EU. Most tea planters use 350mm + plants
from vegetative propagated (clonal) sources. There is
a real risk of parallel importation of tea pests with
the import of plants from overseas. The safest route
to expand our genetic diversity base is seed selections,
a time consuming process. Quarantine of new stock is
essential. At present there are no reliable suppliers
within the EU although Tregothnan is addressing this
problem as needs must.
9) Sustainability.
a) It is grandiose to talk of sustaining an industry
while it’s at embryo stage. What crops are viable economically
for UK production is as much to do with politics as
climate. We continue subsidising crops such as sugar
beet while the sugar cane production in developing countries
is far more ‘sustainable’. The environmentalist might
argue living off an allotment and local food but he
may be only halfway there in his thinking? To go the
whole way may be returning many areas to forest and
grow food where it thrives best in the world. The issue
of Food Miles really doesn’t apply to most sea transport.
b) Tea is in over supply worldwide; the Vietnamese are
blamed for acerbating the situation with large new plantings
supported by the World Bank. Industry insiders compare
this situation with the coffee price collapse recently
brought about by similar circumstances. Tea is a very
long-term crop that cannot be planned around EU mid
term reviews.
c) Meanwhile, raw tea may be returning as little as
US$2000. per ton to the grower.
10) Alternative Income from Tea Garden
a) Note that UK Viticulture and existing land based
industries find that profit may be better derived from
the ‘non core ‘part of growing the crop, e.g. visitor
centres, novel product retail.
b) Tregothnan is leading the establishment of tea in
the UK and could develop plans for an accessible ‘centre’
that would serve to showcase tea to the public and trade.
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