Jun.1999 / Page 2
Continuation of Import Controls: 　In 1958, the Irish government passed the Tea (Purchase and Importation) Act, 1958. Under this act, on June2, a new company, Tea Importers (1958) Ltd., was incorporated and became the sole authorized importer of tea into the Irish Republic. The difference between this and the old Tea Importers (Eire) Ltd. was that the earlier company was run with funds guaranteed by the government, whereas the new one was financed and owned by the individual companies of the tea trade (members of the Wholesale Tea Dealers Association of Ireland). In order to assist the trade in this, the government granted Tea Importers (1958) Ltd. a banking license which was to prove very valuable in later years. Under the new arrangements, individual tea companies could purchase any tea they wanted, but it had to be purchased in the country in which it was produced, and be shipped on a through bill of lading to Ireland to the order of Tea Importers (1958) Ltd. This meant that no tea could be purchased in London, either in the London Auction or privately, or, for that matter, in any other European country. U.K. and Irish Tea Trades Drift Apart: 　As a result of these measures, the Irish tea trade continued to develop independently and to develop different characteristics from those of the U.K. trade. The differences began to show up in both the type and quality of tea consumed. Overall average quality in Ireland was higher, and packet tea in Ireland contained predominantly 'broken' grades of tea instead of the smaller leaf 'fannings' popular in the U.K.
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