(I can't stand that cover but it is where "Margin of Profit" first appeared.)
Poul Anderson, "Margin of Profit" IN Anderson, The Earth Book Of Stormgate (New York, 1979), pp. 70-100.
Nicholas van Rijn's Solar & Spice Liquors company exports:
cinnamon;
London dry gin;
tea;
etc.
"'...on Arkan III - on the fringe of the Kossaluth, autonomous planet, you recall. We'd put in with a consignment of tea.'" (p. 74)
The premise is faster than light space travel fast and cheap enough to make interstellar trade in such commodities profitable, even lucrative. This premise was acceptable in pulp magazine sf short stories but how likely is it?
Later in the Technic History, tea will grow throughout the Merseian Roidhunate. See "Tea Or Coffee, Sir?" Obviously, it makes more sense to grow it than to import it from Earth.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I have argued, that given FTL, then interstellar trade might well be practical and profitable. Both for selling and buying luxury goods, and products not all planets might well find economically feasible to make or grow themselves.
And many Merseians seemed to have become enthusiastic fans of chess! As we see in both ENSIGN FLANDRY and A CIRCUS OF HELLS.
Ad astra! Sean
Things like tea (or wine) are extremely sensitive to local conditions.
Eg., there are vineyards around Dodoma, in Tanzania, but they're never going to be much like Burgundy.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
And that supports the argument I made above on how FTL interstellar trade can be practicable.
Ad astra! Sean
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