India makes big push to expand tea exports to China

Beijing: India made a strong pitch to expand its steadily growing market for black tea in China by organising a tea promotion campaign that officials say would help in scaling up the tea trade between the two countries.

People in China, where tea originated, mainly consumes green teas without milk unlike black Indian tea.

The Indian Embassy here in association with the Tea Board of India and China Tea Marketing Association held the Indian tea promotion event here from October 23-25. During the event, top tea buyers and sellers from both the countries met and interacted over the prospects of scaling up tea trade between the two countries.

Anil Kumar Ray, Deputy Chairman of the Tea Board of India, the leading Indian tea delegation, told the media on Tuesday that India last year exported about nine million tonnes of tea which constituted about 30 per cent of China's imports. The Indian delegation comprising of top tea business houses visited China to explore the Chinese market and to expand the export base, he said.

Addressing a seminar attended by tea exporters and importers from both the countries here on Tuesday, Indian Ambassador to China, Gautam Bambawale said the tea trade between India and China goes back in history.

The ancient Tea-Horse trade route connected Yunnan Province in China to the tea-growing regions of India in West Bengal and Assam, he said.

Today, China is major producer of green tea with annual production of 2,550 million kilograms. India is a major producer of black tea with annual production of 1,278 million kilograms, he said.

India is the third largest tea exporter to China, he said.

Last year, India exported tea worth $25 million to China. The graph is headed upwards as Chinese people begin liking different kinds of tea, he said. With awareness about the medicinal value of the tea, the popularity is growing among the youth of both the countries. There are many reports which suggest that China's young people like black tea and black tea-based beverages, he said.

"Similarly, in India, people are now beginning to like green tea and herbal tea. It is for this reason that we believe that the possibility of exporting Indian tea to China is rising. That is why we are organising this tea promotion event today," he said.

The Indian delegation has introduced five different type of teas from India at the event.

Ray said India has different varieties of teas, including the Darjeeling and Sikkim tea.

"China is a very traditional tea drinking nation... they have a very long history of drinking tea expanding to thousands of years," he said, adding that "our teas are new but our varieties are more".

Similarly, exports of Chinese green tea varieties to India were also growing. He said India last year has exported 251 million kilograms of tea. This included Russia (50 million kg).