At the crossroads
Tea, a commodity, is possibly the most common of all beverages, is well ensconced in the Indian market. Those connected with the Indian tea industry portray the brew to be strong enough to sustain knocks if any from the international market.

Editorial
Tea is often portrayed as the ‘beverage of the new millennium'. Once just a mere commodity, it has undergone rapid transformation. It’s popularity hinges on the innumerable product forms, packaging innovations, delivery systems and marketing alliances.

In search of new segments
Tea happens to be the second most widely consumed drink worldwide after water. Spreading across a wide spectrum of product forms, its offerings range from the exotic black, to the green herbal and the plain liquoring.

Tea -- A global product
The transition is from a mere commodity to a branded consumer product. Tracking the chronological patterns, there appears to be a distinct demarcation of boundaries in the spatial context between tea treated as a commodity and the commodity used as a raw material.

Fortunes of tea on a global platform
The 13th session of the Inter-Governmental Group on Tea (IGG) which met at Ottawa in late September this year discussed a whole gamut of issues relating to the short and long-term fortunes of the tea industry.

Still un-Coked
For the Indian planters, brokers and traders, matters are getting hot. The export market is drying, competition intensifying and the threat of imports from neighbouring islands is getting real.

The road beyond
With the advent of globalisation, there is a need to relook at the competitive strengths of the tea industry, both internal and external. There is a strong feeling that industry needs to overhaul itself in terms of efficient lines of production, harness the economics of costs, product innovations and concentrate on value-chains vis-a-vis global standards.

The writing on the wall
Indian tea has always been a global product. A look at the world export figures vindicate this statement. Traditionally, India’s share of tea exports has been over 14 per cent, rising to 17 per cent in 1997.

Sharper focus in every segment
Tata Tea managing director, SM Kidwai aired his views on the competitive positioning of Indian tea, deterrent government policies and the company's plans to move ahead once the Tetley deal is through.

Plain speak
Duncans Industries Ltd Sr MD, Bhaskar Banerjee spoke on the importance of having a diversified product portfolio as part of the company's efforts to become more competitive in the new millennium.

"Improving quality is a long-term capital investment"
Goodricke Group Ltd managing director, KS David spoke about the company's plans to stay ahead in an era of relaxed tariff structures.