Sri Lanka to step up tea trade with India
Sri Lanka is looking to beef up tea trade with India. For starters, the Sri Lankan Tea Board has sought the assistance of Indian counterpart to introduce e-auction in Sri Lanka.
By TNN |
KOLKATA; Sri Lanka is looking to beef up tea trade with India. For starters, the Sri Lankan Tea Board has sought the assistance of Indian counterpart to introduce e-auction in Sri Lanka. An orthodox tea producing nation, Sri Lanka also wants India to import more teas for domestic consumption.
Addressing the annual general meeting of the Tea Auction Buyers’ Association of Calcutta on Saturday, Tea Board chairman Basudeb Banerjee said: “We recently interacted with the Sri Lankan tea industry. They want India to import more teas. Under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries, India can import 15m kg of tea at an import duty of 7.5%. But India has merely imported 0.1m kg of Sri Lankan tea last year.”
The Tea Board chairman feels Indians are yet to develop a taste for Sri Lankan teas. And this is one of the reasons why India’s tea imports from Sri Lanka are negligible, he says. “I have asked the Sri Lankan Tea Board to actively promote their teas in our country,” Mr Banerjee added.
Simultaneously, the Tea Board has launched promotional campaigns both in India and abroad to promote Brand India. It has set aside Rs 23 crore for promotional activities in ‘06-07.
The Tea Auction Buyers’ Association has decided to have a new building with club and other facilities. Gopal Poddar, president of the association, said traders would submit a proposal to the West Bengal government next month for the new auction house.
Addressing the annual general meeting of the Tea Auction Buyers’ Association of Calcutta on Saturday, Tea Board chairman Basudeb Banerjee said: “We recently interacted with the Sri Lankan tea industry. They want India to import more teas. Under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries, India can import 15m kg of tea at an import duty of 7.5%. But India has merely imported 0.1m kg of Sri Lankan tea last year.”
The Tea Board chairman feels Indians are yet to develop a taste for Sri Lankan teas. And this is one of the reasons why India’s tea imports from Sri Lanka are negligible, he says. “I have asked the Sri Lankan Tea Board to actively promote their teas in our country,” Mr Banerjee added.
Simultaneously, the Tea Board has launched promotional campaigns both in India and abroad to promote Brand India. It has set aside Rs 23 crore for promotional activities in ‘06-07.
The Tea Auction Buyers’ Association has decided to have a new building with club and other facilities. Gopal Poddar, president of the association, said traders would submit a proposal to the West Bengal government next month for the new auction house.
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