India has started shipments of tea to Iraq under the UN-supervised oil-for-food programme, industry officials said on Monday.
"The shipment has just started," Tata Tea managing director R K Krishna Kumar said. He did not say when the first shipment left India or what quantities were involved.
The Tea Board, in July, said it had secured an order to ship 1,000 tonnes of black tea to Iraq under the oil for food package.
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The contract for the sale was signed by Tata Tea and Iraq's Food Stuff Trading Company.
Kumar, who is also chairman of the Indian Tea Association, told reporters earlier that India's total tea exports in calendar 1997 could touch 185 million kg, up 30 million kg over the 1996 level.
The association forecast India's tea output in 1997 at 805 million kg, compared with 780 million recorded during 1996.
Kumar said exports in 1997 will be substantially higher because of a lower crop in Kenya, Indonesia and Bangladesh and a consequent switch to Indian teas by Britain.
He said competitive prices of Indian teas, stronger enquiries from Russia and the return of key markets such as Iran and Iraq would also help.
Indian tea exports are also likely to receive a considerable boost through the opening up of the sizeable Pakistan market, Kumar said.
An official Indian tea delegation recently visited Pakistan and firmed up contracts for exports of around one million kg of tea, Kumar said.
He said India was hoping to capture 30 per cent of the Pakistan market, which was around 30 million kg.