The Hindu Business Line : Tea exports may hit 210 m kg this fiscal

Kolkata, Oct. 1 If the current trend is any indication, tea export in 2008-09 should be around 210 million kg, according to Mr Basudeb Banerjee, Chairman of Tea Board.

“I’ll not be surprised if the figure exceeds 210 million kg,” Mr Banerjee told Business Line. In 2007-08, the export was 185 mkg, he said.

Between April and August this year, Mr Banerjee pointed out, the export was 73.10 million kg, up by nearly 11 mkg over 62.27 mkg of export in the same period of last year. Between January and August this year, the export was 124.04 mkg, up by about 18 mkg over 106.64 mkg in the same period of last year. More important, the average unit value realisation from export had been good, he said.

Egypt, Iraq and Iran were set to step up their buying of Indian tea, the Tea Board Chairman observed, adding that Pakistan too was buying more from India largely due to the crop failure in Kenya.

Asked about the demand of the Federation of All India Tea Traders Association for some sort of control as the rising tea prices was hurting them, Mr Banerjee replied that any such demand could not be in the best interest of the industry.

“In a situation where the prices are determined by the free interplay of market forces, neither the Government nor the Tea Board will intervene,” he said.

“Besides, the tea industry has just started seeing light at the end of the tunnel after several bad years and any intervention in the present situation therefore will go against the industry.”

Referring to the association’s demand for routing 75 per cent of the production through auction as against around the 55 at present, he said that the producers should be free to decide how much to sell and to whom.

Mr Aditya Khaitan, Chairman of Indian Tea Association, expressed the view that the tea packagers, both leaders like Tata Tea and Hindustan Unilever and smaller regional players, should help maintain the present rising price trend, emphasising, “a complete harmony between the producers and the buyers is the need of the hour.”

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