A top industry source told The Financial Express that the idea was conceived and put forward by India at the Saarc meet held earlier this month. There may be a change in dates of the conference if the need arises as much will depend on the initiative of the union commerce ministry which is essentially largely a government-led decision, said the source.

Although the modalities of the programme are yet to decided upon, if successful, India would have a large opportunity to project its own teas in the world market.

Calcutta, one of the largest hubs for tea trade is expected to be the venue of this meet.

Adding to the diplomacy and commonality of having interests in tea, there has alsobeen a decision to arrange a four-nation cricket tournament to celebrate the hosting of the conference by India. Tea producers including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India and consumers including Pakistan are expected to participate in the tournament.

Perhaps, it is too early to arrive at all the details which are yet to be worked out, said the source. Much depends on the state of the government at that point of time as well as discussions with the WTO. Moreover, the whole exercise is largely an industry initiative as well, the source added.

Industry observers said that such a conference if hosted by India would provide a fillip to the tea trading community at large. The benefits could be in the form of increased trade ties with the consuming countries, exchange of technical information within the producing countries as well as striving towards an increased global consumption of tea. Darjeeling tea, one of the more premium teas could also be greatly benefitted by increased interest levels from consumingcountries, said industry observers.

The Tea Association of South Asia (TASA) mooted recently at the Saarc meet had called for increased co-operation on the common forum to provide an international forum to safeguard the short, medium and long- term interests of tea producing and trading activities within the member countries.

The meet had also called for sharing of technology and expertise amongst the member countries in the fields of research, production, processing, packaging and marketing of tea.

The proposed conference as industry observers said could go a long way in helping increase consumption levels of tea both within the Saarc region as well as in other countries of the world.