Tea exporters eye Pakistan

Indian Tea Association (ITA) and Pakistan Tea Association (PTA) have reached an understanding to facilitate tea trade between the two countries and have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), to this effect.

As part of the terms set in the MoU, the PTA shall, subject to competitiveness of price and quality, ensure that tea imports from Indian reach a level of 25 million kg, over the period 2004-05 to 2006-07.

The ITA's earlier initiative had been mounted in June 2003 in the course of which an MoU had been signed with the PTA envisaging a targeted exports to Pakistan of 10 million kg during July 2003 to June 2004.

The actual tea exports to Pakistan, last year doubled to around seven million kg against the corresponding levels of the previous year.

Pakistan was the third largest tea consuming nation with a demand of 155-160 million kg. Furthermore, Pakistan was essentially a CTC market and therefore provided significant opportunities for Indian tea exports.

The memoradum was signed on the recent visit to Pakistan by the an 11-member delegation. Detailed discussions and tasting sessions were held in offices of Unilever Pakistan and Tapal Tea, the two major blender packers of the country, together accounting for annual imports of around 110 million kg.

According to the terms of MoU, PTA and ITA would jointly take up and pursue with their respective govenrments towards inclusion of tea imports into Pakistan within the framework of a preferential or free trade agreement between the two countries.

ITA would also ensure that its members address the task of reducing costs towards supplying suitable quality of tea to Pakistan at internationally competitive prices.

Further, ITA would take appropriate steps to render assistance to producers in India to facilitate tea export to Pakistan. PTA would take similar steps to render assistance to the tea trade in Pakistan towards facilitation of imports of tea from India.

Relevant exchange of information between the two associations, in terms of production, exports, imports and prices of tea was encouraged.

The associations would also facilitate regular visits of buyers and sellers between the two countries.

Any dispute would be mutually settled among the members of PTA and the ITA.