Camellia for Foliage, Flowers, Fruit & Tea

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 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.

7) 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.

8) 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.

9) 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.

28 Next Page