| Ceylon Tea gains in Iran, Russia, fares badly in Pakistan - Sunday Observer
Poor quality and a consumer preference for Ceylon Tea have been the main reasons for
Iranian producers being able to sell only 12% of their teas to the Iranian market, an Asia
Siyaka report says.
Iranian importers are expected to absorb the local produce on a 1:1 ratio to imported
tea. Meanwhile, Sri Lankan tea exports direct to Iran have grown by 21% to 10.2 million
kilos during the 10-month period ending in October.
Sri Lanka with 13,380 metric tons was also the second biggest supplier of tea to the
Russian market during the first seven months of the year.
The largest supplier was India with 57,276 mts and the third was Georgia (3,298 mts).
But Sri Lanka fared poorly in supplies to Pakistan, meeting only four per cent of that
country's tea imports for the first 11 months of the year.
Sri Lanka's imports to Pakistan for the period under review amounted to four million
kgs. The biggest supplier was Kenya with 50.4 million kgs or 49% of Pakistan's total
imports. They were followed by Indo nesia (11.2 million kgs), Bangladesh (7.8 million
kgs), Rwanda (6.3 million kgs) and Tanzania and Vietnam with 4.6 million kgs each. The
other suppliers exported quantities to Pakistan that were less than what Sri Lanka
supplied.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's tea production during the first 10 months of the year increased
by 15.5% to 250 kgs. The country's total production for last year was 284 million kgs, a
four per cent increase over 1998 figures.
A report from Business Standard, New Delhi, said that India's tea export target of 225
million kgs this year is unlikely to be achieved due to the lack of aggressive marketing.
"There is likely to be a significant loss in the total export earnings as well, as
the prices fetched by Indian teas have been lower, though the volume could be marginally
higher," it added. The report further said that the average price of Indian tea has
dropped from US$ 1.62 to US$ 1.40, while prices of Sri Lankan teas have increased from US$
1.51 to US$ 1.73. And African teas at the Mombasa auctions from US$ 1.75 to US$ 2.02. It
also said that Russia and the entire CIS is known to be buying sizeable volumes of teas
from Sri Lanka, despite an agreement between the Indian Tea Board and the Russian agencies
for the export of 100 million kgs of tea annually to Russia.
- (PA)
(10/12/2000)
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