The Hindu : Business : China keen to import Indian black tea

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 11, 2005

Business

Business

China keen to import Indian black tea

IS CHINA eyeing Indian tea? It certainly seems so, if one were to go by the reactions of a Chinese delegation that visited a tea auction site in Siliguri, West Bengal, recently. China, according to a member of the team, is looking to export high quality green tea to India in exchange for the black tea produced by India.

Exploring the possibility of increasing tea trade between India and China, a four-member delegation from the Ministry of Commerce of People's Republic of China led by Thingjun Wu was in Siliguri. China is keen to import more Indian black tea and even help leading Indian firms to set up manufacturing plants in the country, while seeking assistance in setting up tea auction facilities.

The Chinese delegation held talks with top Tea Board officials and interacted with Indian tea manufactures and industry officials to promote bilateral co-operation

"They have come from China to invite us to buy and sell and if any kind of problems or union. They have also welcomed us to establish black tea factories like CTC, Black Orthodox like Organic tea,'' said Rajiv Lochan, Secretary of Siliguri Tea Traders Association.

As part of this effort, the Chinese delegation is touring major tea producing countries like Kenya, India and Sri Lanka.

However, China is well-known for its green tea. India exported just 62,813 kg tea to China in 2004, or just 2.7 per cent while Sri Lanka shipped 573,244 kg of tea, having a 24.3 per cent market share.

Kenya, another major tea maker, enjoyed maximum share of the Chinese market by exporting 735,285 kg and had a market share of 31.2 per cent, according to official statistics. On the price front, Sri Lankan tea was considerably cheaper at $2.9 a kg while Indian tea cost $4.4 a kg. Kenyan tea was even more cheaper at $1.8 a kg. The Indian tea traders were also happy at the prospect of trade with China.

The team was on a fact-finding mission on India's tea industry for which it would travel to Siliguri and Darjeeling to get first hand knowledge about tea gardens. — ANI

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