There is scope to increase the per capita consumption of tea in producing countries, including India, the FAO Intergovernmental Group on Tea has said.

“Although 75 per cent of all teas produced globally are locally consumed, there is still untapped demand....”, the FAO body said in a paper.

“India’s lower-income consumers offer a considerable market for unpackaged tea, which is a typically priced below branded and bagged equivalent”, it observed.

“Unpackaged teas account for more than 50 per cent of the overall market. There is between $2 and $2.5 billion inuntapped tea sales, indicating a significant opportunity for manufacturers,” it said .

India’s per capita tea consumption is 0.78 kg per year against 3.2 kg in Turkey, 2.4 kg in Libya and 1.68 in the UK. In Kenya, the world’s top tea exporting nation, domestic consumption is only a fraction of total production.