06-Oct-2013
Recently the Tea Board of India and the Association of Tea and Coffee in Russia jointly organised a charity auction of Darjeeling tea in Moscow. First flush high quality Darjeeling tea from 20 estates - Badamtam, Margaret’s Hope, Thurbo, Castleton, Barnesberg, Okayti, Gopaldhara, Rohini, Tindaria, Glenburn, Sourenee, Arya, Puttabong, Risheehat, Sungama, Goomte, Thumsong Orange, Chamong Organic, Lingia Organic, and Jungpana were specialities of the auction.
Professional tea tasters were part of the auction that was featured by popular Russian television personalities. According to Tea Board officials, the auction evoked encouraging response from Russian consumers, with tea varieties fetching high prices of $ 1,384 per lot of 1.2 kg. While Darjeeling tea from the Castleton estate won the highest bid of $1,384, the second highest bid was offered for Chamong Organic ($1,076), the third highest bid was for Badamtan estate ($646). The other tea varieties were also well received, with prices ranging from $200 to $500 per lot of 1.2 kg.
So, if Russia comes forward, can the US be far behind?
According to tea industry officials, particularly exporters, Indian tea is finding increasing acceptability in the US markets. The demand for premium Indian tea, in fact, is reportedly going up by 6-7 per cent. Leading tea exporters like McLeod Russel, Goodricke Group and Rossell Tea are all upbeat. And that’s not without reason. Premium
Indian tea is fast coming up as a more preferred alternative to coffee in the US. The good thing is that discerning American buyers are ready to pay good prices for premium Indian tea varieties.
Consumer goods research firm Packaged Facts has predicted in its latest report that over the next two years, tea sales at restaurants, grocery stores and shops across the US is expected to expand to $18 billion. And there are already signs of this increase. Tea sales had already gone up 32 per cent between 2007 and 2012 and reached $15.7 billion. Indian tea companies are expected to latch on to the opportunity.
The US and Russia would be the two biggest markets for Indian tea. They would also be crucial for price expectations. According to industry estimates, while good varieties of Darjeeling tea fetch $20 per kg on an average, the premium high-quality varieties can fetch up to $60-70 per kg in the US.
The encouraging news from the US and Russia have come at a time when the Iranian tea importers are also exploring options of buying larger volumes of tea from India and negotiating terms for solving the payment problems. The Indian Tea Association expects to export 20-21 million kg of tea to Iran in the current year itself.
Things, therefore, look bright on the export front. On the domestic front too, production in north India stood at 414.62 million kg till July, vis-à-vis 375.02 million kg in 2012, according to the last figures from Indian Tea Association (ITA).
However, the scene in south India is completely different, which produced almost 6 million kg less at 132.2 million till July. The north accounts for around 75 per cent of total tea production.
Source:- mydigitalfc.com
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