In a major breakthrough for south Indian tea, a large consignment of tea has been exported to Egypt and more orders are on the way, a trader said. Tea exports from south India has been on the decline with a sharp fall in exports to Iraq following payment problems. Tea traders say that the export to Egypt, which has a preference for CTC (crush, tear, curl) teas with strong liquor, is a step forward. The first consignment of 500 tonne has reached Egypt and another contract of 1,500 tonne will be executed soon, N Sriram of Contemporary Tea Auctioneers said. Exports from south India was lower by 23.5 million kg for January-July 2007 while north India recorded an increase of 2.9 million kg.
South India can expect more trade with Egypt in the future following the Egyptian government’s decision to source tea from outside Common Markets of Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), a trade organisation of countries in the region. ?The lowering of duty has given India an opportunity to regain the market of Egypt,? Sriram said.
During the calendar year 2006, India exported around 2.7 million kg to Egypt, up from 0.37 million kg the previous year. South India produces mostly the low quality CTC tea while north India produces the orthodox variety, which has more stable demand and market. The decline in exports to the Russian federation and CIS has adversely affected the tea estates in south India.
The Orthodox Incentive Scheme of the Tea Board to address the Orthodox-CTC mix is showing positive results, Tea Board chairman Basudeb Banerjee said. ?Recent data reveals that production of orthodox tea has gone up to 90 million kg from 65-70 million kg,? he said.
