Uk To Step Up Tea Imports From India

Britain is turning to India for import of tea, as prices in Kenya-its established source for tea-has shot up by 40 per cent due to a drought in the first four months of the current year.

The focus on India for supply of tea, could open up the gates for tea exporters into the wider European market. Till now Indian tea marketers have failed to break the stranglehold that countries like Kenya and Sri Lanka have had on the European tea market.

Prices of Kenyan tea, which account for the bulk of British tea imports, have risen by 40 per cent owing to a sharp drop in production due to a severe drought. Kenya, which exports 90 per cent of its output, had produced a record 257 million kg in 1996 and was the worlds top exporter of black tea, a tea industry expert pointed out.

India is the worlds largest producer of tea-with an output of 800 million kg, 80 per cent of which is for the home market and has been experiencing strong demand from overseas buyers during recent months. Demand from Russia, which bought little Indian tea last year, has been notable this year, tea industry sources said and added that the increase in demand has pushed Indian tea prices up 12 per cent this year compared with that last year.

With Britain also considering sourcing tea from India, we have a good opportunity to make inroads into the European market... industry sources said.

Our dependence on the Soviet Union market had encouraged us to neglect the traditional and emerging markets. Therefore in the 90s, countries like Sri Lanka and Kenya powered their way to global leadership by selling tea cheaper than the Indian companies.