The plum rain season from May 11 to 17 completely disrupted our tea-sourcing plans, and we weren’t able to secure any HuaGung, Biluxi, or Dayuling teas. At first, I was quite stressed about it, but with the lockdowns in Shanghai leading to fewer orders and logistics bottlenecks, missing out on those batches actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Liao Chang Xing’s Facebook page is followed by quite a few industry peers. In May and June, I received several direct messages from peers doing business in China, asking if we could take over their tea inventory. After asking around, I found out that due to the lockdowns in China, they couldn’t ship their tea out or their buyers across the strait had canceled orders, leaving them stuck with unsold inventory.
Some peers were willing to let go of their Lishan tea at 20% off the origin price, and others, knowing I missed out on Dayuling, asked if I wanted to take over theirs, assuring me they could prove it was authentic. I completely trust that they have the real deal, but my hands were tied. With the logistics chaos across the strait, there was simply no way for me to sell it, so I had to politely decline.
Back in April and May, the store manager could already feel the impact of the lockdowns in mainland China. Orders were either cancelled or had to be rerouted through alternative logistics, significantly increasing shipping costs. Fortunately, we suspended orders to Shanghai and Zhejiang by May. Combined with the plum rain season disrupting original tea-purchasing plans as mentioned earlier, we didn’t end up with excessive inventory. Other competitors weren’t as lucky; burdened with too much unsold stock, these teas will become out-of-season by the time the winter tea is launched, leaving them with little choice but to blend them with new tea or sell them at a discount.
Recently, the manager also noticed that origin prices have “softened.” Prices that were once firm are now being proactively lowered, which we learned is also due to decreased sales across the strait. Is this a blessing in disguise? Still, we pray for the pandemic to subside soon—life under these circumstances has truly been too stifling.
Note: Photos of beautiful tea plantations are included to help relieve the stress of daily life.
