Indian black tea exporters win over Chinese market

(Photo Credits - Forbes India)

Kolkata: Indian black tea, which was first sourced from China by the erstwhile British planters centuries ago, is winning back its roots with a record jump in exports in 2017.


The shipment of black tea from India to the Dragon land has taken a big leap last year to 8.3 million kg from 5.5 mkg in 2016, according to the Indian Tea Association (ITA). Only Sri Lanka has beaten India in the Chinese market with an export figure of 9.9 mkg in 2017. India is followed by Kenya (4-5mkg) and Uganda (4-5mkg). China buys a 340 mkg of tea leaves from abroad each year.



Traditionally the biggest producer and consumer of green tea, Chinese people, especially youths, are sipping more black tea imported from India. Witnessing an encouraging export demand from China for the last few years, the Tea Board of India has set a fresh annual export target of 15 mkg by the next couple of years. For this, the Board has been canvassing for inking a preferential trade agreement in tea between China and India.



Tea Board chairman Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah on Thursday told TOI, “China is soon becoming a major export market for black tea. A delegation of Tea Research Association (TRA) would soon visit China to work further on the country’s preference of tea, change in their consumption pattern and leaf-testing parameters. A Tea Board delegation, too, would visit China to bolster the Indian producers’ efforts to grow business there. Bezboruah was speaking on the sidelines of an interactive session with Chinese delegation from Dali, Yunnan Province, China, Organised by ICC.




“One area of cooperation that needs to be specially looked into by both the countries is tea trade,” said Chen Jian, secretary of the committee of Communist Party of China (CPC) of Dali, who led the delegation on Thursday.



China produces around 2,600 mkg of tea annually, while India produces around half of that, but both countries should look at complimenting each other's business, added Bezbaruah. “Both the countries should work out a preferential trade agreement over tea so that they have to pay lower duties. India and China were not competitors as far as tea was concerned. This will benefit both,” Bezbaruah said.



Eighty percent of China’s annual output is green tea and 18% Oolong variety, while 98% of the beverage produced in India annually is black tea.



However, stricter non-tariff barriers, quarantine parameters and difference in lab testing methods for pesticide and fertilizer residue in tea leaves have posed as a big hurdle for growth in exports for Indian tea producers.

 According to Anshuman Kanoria, vice-chairman of Indian Tea Exporters’ Association (ITEA), the export of black tea to China is important for Indian producers as there is an excellent potential for selling Darjeeling, specialty, and CTC tea. “Indian exporters value the importance of making repeated marketing attempts, which has resulted in the recent rise in exports. If Chinese quarantine regulation can be well-negotiated, India’s tea exports to the country could potentially be greater than 20 mkg per annum,” he said.


 Bezbaruah suggested that the two countries should agree on a harmonization of the maximum residue limits in each other’s tea, making export and import easier.

 At the moment, the maximum acceptable limit of pesticide and fertilizer residues in tea is different for the two countries and some harmonization is urgently required for the benefit of trade, as agreed by both sides, added the Tea Board chief.

 As per the latest data, the Union commerce ministry has set a total annual tea export target of 260 mkg by 2019-20 from the current 230 mkg.

 SOURCE - TIMES OF INDIA


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Brain behind tea Midas touch

Image
C.K. Parasher outside the factory at Manohari garden Guwahati:  "Love the tea bush as a child", is octogenarian tea planter C.K. Parasher's message to his fellow and upcoming planters. In a career spanning 61 years in tea, Parasher, who comes from Punjab, started out from Darjeeling before moving to Assam. He worked for more than two decades in Halmari and Doomni, both known for world-class teas and getting the highest prices in auctions. Parasher is the brain behind the Gold Special grade tea from Manohari tea estate, which fetched Rs 39,001 a kilogram at the Guwahati auction on Tuesday. This is the highest price for tea at the auctions in the country so far. The visiting agent joined a tea garden in Darjeeling at 21 and later went to Assam after convincing his mother. "She was a bit hesitant and said there is jungle there and black magic. I said people stay in a jungle too and she finally relented. I was very interested in making a career in tea...
Read more

Watch: IAF pilot Abhinandan features in spoof of Pakistani tea advertisement

Image
The video is an edited version of an old advertisement for Tapal Tea, a Karachi-based tea brand. This fairly funny Pak ad featuring Wing Commander Abhinandan. pic.twitter.com/urnD6M2vmP — Vishnu Som (@VishnuNDTV) March 5, 2019 Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was captured by Pakistan on February 27 and released on March 1, has now featured in a spoof of a Pakistani tea advertisement. While Varthaman was still in Pakistan’s custody, a video was released, in which the pilot was seen drinking a cup of tea, which he called “fantastic”. The footage has now been used in an edited version of an old advertisement for Tapal Tea, a Pakistani tea brand, based in Karachi. In the original advertisement, a woman spies on a young couple that is lovingly sipping tea in their balcony. The spoof video replaces the couple with Varthaman and has gained immense popularity on Twitter, with many initially believing it to be an authentic ad. It remains unclear who ma...
Read more

Indian tea industry records highest ever production, export in FY18

Image
Indian tea industry has recorded the highest ever production as well as exports in FY18. The total tea production was 1325.05 million kgs, an increase of 74.56 million kgs as compared to 2016-17. In percentage terms, the increase is around 6%.  Similarly, the total quantity of tea exported during the financial year 2017-18 stood at 256.57 million kgs, while the foreign exchange realized from exports of Indian tea was $ 785.92 million.  The quantity of tea exports increased by 12.7  to 28.94 million kgs during 2017-18 as compared to the corresponding period last year, while the revenue earned from exports saw a rise of $ 95.19 million (13.78%).   In rupee terms, the total value of the exports was pegged at Rs. 5064.88 crores during 2017-18. The value realisation increased by Rs. 432.38 crores (9.33%).  The growth in exports was majorly driven by the following countries: Egypt (increased by 7.49 million kgs), Iran (increased by 6.95 million kgs), Pakistan...
Read more