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Tamil Nadu
By D. Radhakrishnan
Addressing a `tea session', organised as part of the 110th annual conference of the United Planters Association of Southern India (UPASI), he said, "thetime has come to shed our differences and there is no reason why we cannot strive towards one market for Asia or the sub-continent."
While India was the largest tea producer in the world, Pakistan was the second largest consumer, he said. And if the current consumption trend continued, Pakistan would become the largest importer by 2005.
However, Indian tea was not popular in Pakistan mainly because the prices were generally high. Pakistan purchased Indian tea only when prices were lower and competitive, and this had resulted in erratic imports.
Also Indian tea was tailored for the Russian market, as it had been a major buyer in the past.
However, of late, the quality of Indian tea had improved, the PTA chairman said, and was in a position to satisfy the Pakistani palate.
The current need was for the Indian tea to compete with other exporters and gradually convince buyers and consumers of the improvement in quality. For this, "exchange of visits between the two countries would be useful and help in increasing the volume of business".
The Additional Secretary of the Commerce Ministry, L.V. Saptharishi, who presided, said that henceforth a tea delegation from Pakistan would become an integral part of the UPASI and Kolkata conferences.
Earlier the UPASI president, P.S. Walia, welcomed the gathering and said that it was imperative for the Indian tea industry to seriously explore the Pakistan market.
The chairman of the UPASI Tea Committee, N. Dharmaraj, said UPASI was in the process of setting up the world's first tea futures exchange shortly, which would enable price risk management for all sections of the trade.
The Chairman, Tea Board, N.K. Das, said India was now striving to meet the requirements of various kinds of markets in the world.
A member of the delegation, Mohsin Mansoor Saify, gave a presentation on the tea scenario in Pakistan.
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