Tea exports set to reach target despite lower offtake from Pak

KOCHI: India will export about 200 million kg of tea this financial year despite a slump in the offtake by Pakistan after the 26/11, according to Jairam Ramesh, Union minister of state for commerce and power. The export was around 189 million kg in 2007-08

Launching the first e-auction of tea in the south at Cochin tea auction centre, the minister said the current political situation has led to the stoppage of further tea export to Pakistan. The country was actively buying tea earlier and India���s tea export to Pakistan is likely to touch 12 million kg this fiscal. Egypt, Iran and Iraq have been active in the market and are likely to buy 20 million kg each. India tea promotion centre in Cairo will come up by March 2009 while Iran has liberalised import regulations for tea.

The minister said Kochi is the fifth centre after Guwahati, Kolkata, Siliguri and Jalpaiguri to implement tea e-auction. Coimbatore and Coonoor will follow. The new web-based system developed by NSE IT that ensures anonymity of buyer and enables the broker to access from anywhere, will replace the manual tea auctions that have been there for 147 years. By January 31, 2009, a settlement system will be in place and there will not be any physical auction of tea after that, he said.

By September, 2009, the physical tea auction centres could be converted to commercial centres or hotels as the buyers could bid from anywhere in the world. The e-auctions in cardamom and tobacco introduced recently have been a success, Mr Ramesh said.

The India International Tea Festival to be held from February 19 to 21, 2009 in Kochi will go on as schedule despite the terrorist attack in Mumbai. The minister said it was unfortunate that India International Coffee Festival slated to be organised in Bangalore was postponed without his consent.