Aiming to double tea imports from India by 2015, the Pakistan Tea Association (PTA) has urged tea producers in South India to improve quality to grow their presence in a market dominated by Kenyan teas, an Indian daily reported.
Almost the entire 24 million kilograms (mkg) of tea that was exported from India to Pakistan last year was from the south, Times of India reported, quoting a senior PTA official.
“There will be room for growth but we are interested in better teas,” said PTA Chairman Mohammad Hanif Janoo. “There is a lot of potential for good teas,” he said.
The portion of quality teas exported from south India to Pakistan is quite small, a he said. “There is a perception that only poor quality teas are exported from south India,” he added.
Though input prices have gone up sharply, the Pakistani market gets teas priced at Rs 40-45 per kg from south India, Janoo said. “The opportunity to expand is there but average prices have to rise up to the same level as East Africa (teas),” he said. The average price realisation for teas from the south is less than half of its main competitor Kenya.
Stating that the consumption of teas in Pakistan is on the rise, the PTA chairman said they have reached an understanding with ITA ( Indian Tea Association) for sampling of teas which are exported, on a single platform. A 12-member PTA delegation is in the country to discuss trade opportunities between the two countries. Pakistan consumed about 220 mkg of tea last year and Kenya accounted about 58 percent of its imports. Kenya and East African countries accounted for 66 percent of Pakistan’s imports. The Pakistani market was dominated mostly by India until the late 70s when the government banned tea exports to Pakistan, the TOI said.