Egypt has proposed to create a local tea brand with India which would step up the sourcing of Indian tea for the Egyptian market and boost the bilateral trade.
A 14-member delegation led the Deputy Chairman of Tea Board of India Amiya Kumar Das explored avenues to increase the bilateral trade between India and Egypt on tea segment here.
During their visit from March 20 to 23, the delegation met Egyptian Minister of Supplies and Domestic Trade and discussed various options to enhance the trade between the two countries, according to a statement issued by the Indian embassy here.
Minister Khaled Hanafy suggested the delegation have a Joint Venture with Egyptian entities to create a local brand which would have a market access not only to Egyptian consumers but also to the region, it said.
Both sides agreed to set up a core group to further study this proposal. He also agreed to step up the sourcing of Indian tea for the Egyptian market, the statement said.
Egypt has traditionally been one of India's most important trading partners in the African continent.
India is the seventh largest trading partner for Egypt, with tenth largest source for import and second largest destination for exports.
The governments and the business communities in India and Egypt are working closely to promote the dynamism in bilateral economic relations.
The visit of the tea delegation is part of the efforts to boost the trade relations between the two countries.
India is world's largest producer of Black Tea and second largest producer of all types of tea, producing 1200 million kg from the tea estates spread over a half a million hectares.
India produces different types of tea including Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiris, Dooars-terai and Kangra.
Over the past 20 years, Kenyan tea dominates the Egyptian market as COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) gives advantage to them with zero import duty, it said.
Kenya accounts for 88 per cent share in Egyptian tea market followed by India and Sri Lanka contribution about 3 per cent each.
Indian companies offer to Egyptian consumers wide variety of teas including Black, Green, White, Oolong, Organic, Instant, Flavoured in all forms like bulk, packets, cartons, tea bags, caddies etc at competitive cost, it said.
