Tea exports to new markets up 88%

Unconventional markets have proved well for the beleaguered tea industry of India. Exports to these new markets identified by the Tea Board have grown by 88 per cent in the first five months of the calendar.

While the sector has failed to stem the slide in traditional markets like Russia, it appears to be gaining momentum in new markets like Japan, Germany, Singapore Australia, USA and Canada.

Infact, in the first five months of the year, Indian exports to these countries, besides Kenya and Sri Lanka, stood at a little over 13.5 million kg or about 24 per cent of the total tea exports during the period, compared to 7.2 million kg representing 15 per cent of the net exports in the same period last year.

A senior Tea Board official said, "We noticed this trend last year and the first five months results goes on to show that last year's results wasn't a one-time phenomenon." He added that the board's idea to hold promotional shows in these markets was yielding results.

In value terms, shipments to the unconventional destinations amounted to around Rs 140 crore compared to Rs 115 crore in the same period last year. The official added that rivals Kenya and Sri Lanka, with a less productive crop, had stepped up their India sourcing.

While Kenya had lifted around 4.5 million kg, Sri Lanka accounted for just under a million kg. These two countries share during the same period last fiscal was negligible.

A cursory view of the compiled provisional figures were impressive. It showed Iraq, as expected, was back in the reckoning and had lifted over 2 million kg, while Pakistan had nearly doubled its intake to about 2.2 million kg during the period.

These markets could turn important in the long run, as Iraq had picked up 43.2 million kg of teas from India before Gulf War II and Pakistan, the third largest tea drinking nation, consumed about 130 to 140 million kg annually.

However, India, despite trade meets with Russian buyers, continues to lose ground in the USSR market. Exports to Russia and other CIS states fell by around 13 per cent during the period to around 19 million kg.