India-Taiwan explore possibilities of expansion in tea trade

KOLKATA: India and Taiwan are looking at possibilities of expanding tea trade between the two countries. A business delegation from India visited Taiwan from June 28-July 1. The delegation held meetings with important stakeholders of the Taiwan tea industry and discussed ways and means to increase cooperation between the Indian and Taiwanese tea companies.

Mr Pradeep Kumar Rawat, director general, India-Taipei Association (ITA), briefed the delegation on the opportunities to tap the market potential in Taiwan. He stressed on the need to publicise and popularise Indian tea in the Taiwanese market as currently there is very little awareness about Indian tea and culture among the Taiwanese people.

The health benefits of black tea should be publicised among the Taiwanese, he said. The ready-to-drink (RTD) segment offers huge scope for expansion as the masala tea is very popular in Taiwan. He emphasised on the need to break into the RTD market and do value addition of the products. The CTC variety is apt for the RTD market in Taiwan, he added.

The delegation also had a meeting with the officials of Taiwanese Council of Agriculture. In the meeting, possibilities of cooperation with Indian tea companies were discussed. A seminar and buyer-seller-meet was also organized at the Howard Plaza Hotel, where the Chairman, Tea Board of India, briefed the stakeholders of the Taiwan tea industry about the role of the Board.

The seminar was followed by a buyer-seller meet, to facilitate forging of tea partnerships and greater cooperation between the two countries.

In order to gather first-hand knowledge about the Taiwanese tea industry and consumption trends in the country, the delegation visited the Taiwan Tea Corporation, Uni-President Enterprise, Ten Ren Tea Company Limited, and the Taiwan Tea Manufacturer's Association. At the Taiwan Tea Plantation and Promotion Centre at Muzha, the delegation was briefed on the best practices being followed by the country to ensure the quality of tea.

Talking about the positive outcome of the tea trade delegation, Mr Anshuman Kanoria, chairman, Indian Merchant Tea Exporters Forum, and Managing Partner, Balaji Agro International, said that the delegation managed to create lot of interest and awareness about India tea among the Taiwanese people. Based on the deliberations, the Taiwan trade and industry bodies would now try to develop their market for India tea, he added.

Mr Arun Narain Singh, vice-chairman, Indian Tea Association (ITA), and managing director, Goodricke Group, who was also part of the delegation, said Taiwan is a new territory for Indian tea, where there is absolutely no awareness about the tea produced in this part of the world. As such, the delegation has succeeded in introducing the Taiwanese people to India tea through the tea sampling and tea tasting events organised as part of the programme.