|
The year ’06 may turn out to
be a boon for Indian tea companies if they can successfully route teas to
the overseas markets, mainly the UK and Pakistan. These two countries
depend solely upon Kenyan tea for their domestic consumption.
Reports emerging from Kenya show that its tea production will be lower
this year by 25per cent, due to severe drought. Kenya produced 328m kg of
tea in ’05. This year, the country is expecting around 246m kg. This drop
of 82m kg is because of the drought. Kenya exports almost its entire
produce and tea is its biggest foreign currency earner.
Talking to ET, Gautam Bhalla, executive director of Warren Tea said : “The
Indian tea industry can use the lower Kenyan production this year as an
opportunity to raise exports and regain markets in countries like Pakistan
and the UK. Both these countries consume good CTC teas and only Indian
quality tea matches the Kenyan quality.”
Keeping the present situation in mind, the Indian tea companies have
already invited the Pakistan tea trade to visit India. Pakistan imports
140m kg of tea. They will be visiting the country in March, which is
around the time that Pakistan starts buying tea abroad.
UK buyers generally become active from May onwards. Between January and
September, ’05, UK had imported 11.3m kg of Indian tea. It is the largest
per-capita consumer of tea, averaging about 3.5 to four cups a day.
The Indian tea industry had witnessed a similar situation in 1998, when
Kenyan production went down sharply due to drought. “Tea industry coffers
were full that time and Indian exports had gone up sharply”, said a McLeod
Russel official.
Tea prices in Kenya have already started rising, as output has declined,
touching $1.5 per kg last week. “At such a high price, both Pakistan and
UK may not be interested in buying Kenyan tea. India will be in a better
position to export tea to both countries at a lower price,” Mr Bhalla
added.
THE HINDU, NEW DELHI
Posted online: February, 2006 |
|
After successfully
spreading the aroma of its coffee world over, Brazil is lending a hand to
New Delhi to do the same with Indian tea.
"In-principle they have agreed to help us do with our tea what they did
with their coffee," official sources told PTI.
They said the details are yet to be worked out but their coffee body will
provide all the technical expertise to the Tea Board to increase
consumption and create similar brand value of Indian tea.
Brazil has managed to increase its domestic coffee consumption three folds
in 13 years by undertaking a major marketing exercise.
They said the Government had already asked the Indian Tea Association to
undertake measures to increase tea consumption domestically.
The tea consumption in the country is about 733 grams per person per
annum. Indians consumed 780-790 million kg of tea in 2005, according to
estimates.
Tea production is estimated at about 920 million this year.
THE HINDU, NEW DELHI
Posted online: January, 2006 |
|
For the first time, Tea
Board has decided to provide financial incentives to producers of orthodox
tea to arrest falling exports and increase global market share.
Tea Board chairman B Banerjee said that under the new scheme, orthodox
producers would get Rs.2/kg- Rs.3/kg extra over the last year’s
production.
Mr. Banerjee said the financial outgo would be funded from apportion of
additional excise duty (AED), which had been collected from the producers
by the Centre.
The government has so far collected Rs.100 crore from the levy.
With India producing nearly 60 million kilograms of orthodox tea, Tea
Board is likely to provide Rs.15 crore as financial assistance for this
purpose.
Mr. Banerjee said with India losing the Iraq market, it was now time to
focus again on the Russian market, formerly the largest importers of
Indian tea.
He said Russia, since then, has changed its preference for orthodox over
the CTC variety.
THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS, KOLKATA
Posted online: January, 2006
|
|
India is aiming to give the world's cola giants a run
for their money - with a new exotic soft drink.
The Indian cola was concocted by scientists using tea extracts. The new
Indian "tea cola" is made using traditional Assamese tea.
So far, two varieties have been developed - one made from the extracts of
black tea and the other from green tea. It is likely to be on the shelves
in six months and will cost half the price of popular soft drinks.
What is unique about this Indian cola is that the drink boasts the
wide-ranging health benefits of traditional tea.
Dr Pradeep Tamuli, In-charge - Biochemistry, Tocklai Tea Experimentation
Station, Assam, said, "This tea cola has got high anti-oxidant properties
so it will act against stress. People suffering from stress...they
(develop) certain toxic molecules. And it acts against the toxic
molecules, specially the toxic oxidants they have developed."
The Tocklai Tea Experimentation Station in India's northeastern Assam
state is the world's biggest facility for research into tea.
It took scientists there three years to concoct the tea cola, and although
a patent is still pending, the research facility is already marketing the
drink to the health conscious.
China and Japan have introduced similar drinks - but the Indian
researchers claim to have the edge.
Dr Tamuli said, "We have the advantage over them...that the taste of our
tea soft drinks is comparatively better to Japanese and Chinese because of
the special chemical constituents of Assam tea. Because Assam tea is
famous for the liquor..."
Local traders say the tea cola will add some fizz to the tea industry in
Assam - once among the biggest in the world.
Upen Dutta, Tea Trader, said, "In the future, the tea cola will not only
prove immensely beneficial to the consumer, it will also help rescue the
recession in Assam's once vibrant tea industry. The sagging industry here
(will get) a new life."
There are several other interesting tea-products in the pipeline,
including the world's first chewable tea pill and the tea cake for the
serious tea enthusiast.
The marketing department at the Tocklai Tea Experimentation Centre says
people are tired of boring old tea in a cup.
Variety and a little innovation is what they want.
And the famous tea blenders of Assam definitely have something new to
offer. - CNA/ms
CHANNEL NEWS ASIA - SINGAPORE
Posted
online: December, 2005 |
|
Revenue earnings from tea
export witnessed a drastic dip in 2005 even though India continued to be
the largest producer of black tea for the second consecutive year.
According to an estimate India exported about 1,48,474 thousand kgs of tea
and earned foreign exchange over Rs 13.68 crore from January to October in
2005 compared to 1,64,234 thousand kgs that fetched over Rs 15.68 crore in
the first ten months the previous year.
However, while average price for per kg was Rs 92.02 for 2005, it was
slightly lower in average price for per kg of Rs 91.75 in 2004.
According to a report of the Indian Tea Auction Committee and Tea Board of
India, a decline in tea export would have a negative impact on tea
production.
International pressure of organic tea production, stiff competition from
Kenya, Sri Lanka, China and some other countries to win over importing
nations over price factor and management-labor trouble in home and above
all poor investment in tea estates were accounting much to tea business,
sources said.
The year also saw labor trouble in tea estates of Darjeeling and
Jalpaiguri districts of north Bengal. While over 300 gardens of Jalpaiguri
district were closed for 18 days, the famous Darjeeling tea gardens were
closed for about a week as over 3.5 lakh labourers had been demanding wage
hike.
Talking to UNI, Secretary of the Siliguri Tea Traders' Association Rajib
Lochan pointed out that India was fast losing international tea market to
China and Kenya.
He said the lack of sound infrastructure had its toll on India's share in
the international tea market.
According to him, due to poor facilities, the cost of production of tea
was high in India. As a result, India could not invest further on better
packaging and advertisement as the price would escalate beyond the
international standard rates.
Proper advertisement and marketing were essential for selling a product at
all levels in the present competitive world, he added.
Thus, India was falling behind mainly owing to the high cost of
production, Mr. Lochan observed.
However, China, which had no cultivation of CTC of its own, had captured
world market by aggressive and well planned marketing, he added.
In 2004, India exported 145.09 million kg whereas, in 2005, the quantity
fell to 129.57 million kg.
In comparison, China presented a stark contrast. China increased its
export from 152.17 million kg in 2004 to 169.71 million kg in 2005.
Meanwhile, as per a report of the Siliguri Tea Auction Committee (STAC),
Darjeeling, Dooars and Terai witnessed an increase in production of tea in
2005.
The quantity of tea produced in 2005 in Darjeeling was 11,438 thousand kg,
Dooars 111,837 thousand kg and Terai 34,921 thousand kg. The total
production in West Bengal for 2005 was 158,196 thousand kg, a slight
improvement over the past year's 153,409 thousand kg.
The quantity sold through the STAC in 2005 was 66,784 thousand kg at Rs
57.80 per kg. In 2004, 70,046 thousand kg were sold at Rs 64.24 per kg.
NewKerala.com - Ernakulam, Kerala, India
Posted
online: December, 2005 |
