Tea Consumption In Western India Tops National Average Close.

KOLKATA: Western India tea consumption has crossed the national average of 733 gram/capita and is hovering around 900 gram/capita. This has brought much cheer to the industry which is trying to reduce its dependence on exports and focus more on the domestic business.

The industry will embark on a road show from mid-February to March in western India and north India which will enable it to interact with regional players.

The industry is aiming to achieve a 1kg/capita consumption in western India where companies like Wagh Bakri, Society, Dhunseri Tea, Jivraj are major players. In mid-February, companies will meet the local traders in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Jaipur. In March, there will be interactions with traders in Delhi, Amritsar, Lucknow and Kanpur.

On the export front too, the industry has identified Russia and the CIS countries as major geographies. Russia and CIS countries, which had moved away from the Indian tea due to their own financial crisis, are back with a bang.

In fact, this year these two regions have become more active in the Indian tea space. Russia and CIS countries generally lift around 90 million kg from India.

In the first 10 months of this year, India exported 144.97 million kg as compared to 163.12 million kg in the corresponding period of the previous year. Azam Monem, director of McLeod Russel India, said: "Though teas are becoming popular in India, there is a need to ensure the quality of tea being marketed. Our aim is to enhance consumption through the quality route."

Monem added that demand needs to go up to achieve a growth in domestic consumption by 3-3.5%. As of now, internal consumption is growing around 2.5%. "We are trying to increase the per capita consumption to 1 kg," he added.

AN Singh, managing director of Goodricke Group, said: "Price is one factor which will be addressed at these road shows. The cost of production is increasing and traders should understand that. Therefore, we would like to have a wide array of teas at different price points so that traders can choose from them."

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com