India To Regulate Quality Of Tea Exports

India is planning to formulate a policy to ensure exports of good quality tea from the country, a top government official said on Monday.

The federal government will use its regulatory powers to stop export of poor quality product that was hurting exports, Basudev Banerjee, chairman, Tea Board of India, told reporters on the sidelines of the annual meeting of a tea traders' body.

The policy will aim at setting a benchmark price for tea exports to keep a check on quality, he said.

In 2007, India's tea exports fell 28.35 percent on lower shipments to strife-torn Iraq and an appreciating rupee.

India's exports to Iraq stood at about 10 million kg in 2007, sharply down from 41.33 million kg in 2006, on payment issues due to shipment of poor quality consignments.

"We have taken up remittance issues in Iraq through diplomatic channels and payments have started coming," Banerjee said.

Regulation in quality of tea exported would boost exports in the long run, he said adding the draft policy will be put before the federal government for approval in three months.

The country is targeting 190 million kilograms of tea exports in 2008, Banerjee said.

India, the world's fourth largest tea exporter, sends the bulk of its tea to Russia, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom, apart from Iraq and Pakistan.

In 2008, the country is targeting export of 10-15 million kgs of tea to Egypt, from 5 million kg now, Banerjee said.

It is also trying to boost exports to Pakistan, currently importing about 10-15 million kgs of tea, he said.

Source: Reuters