Pakistan to import 50 million kg Indian tea by 2015

Kolkata: The Pakistan Tea Association (PTA) and Indian Tea Association (ITA) today signed a memorandum of understanding to import 50 million kg of the beverage by 2015.

The MoU was signed by chairman of PTA Mohd Hanif Janoo and chairman of ITA CS Bedi in Kolkata.[caption id="attachment_271531" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Wanting the Indian cup. Simantik Dowerah/Firstpost"][/caption]

Bedi said the present levels of Pakistani imports of Indian tea was 24 million kg, with Pakistan's annual consumption at 235-240 million kg and growing at 2 percent annually.

He added Pakistan is a large CTC (crush, tear, curl) tea drinking nation and India is able to meet a large chunk of that demand as it is the largest producer of CTC tea.

Janoo said that Pakistan had been importing South Indian tea from India so far.

"Now we want to increase the share of better Indian tea from Assam," he told reporters in Kolkata.

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He added customs duty on imported tea in Pakistan is 10 percent for all countries.

"We are pleading before the government to lower it," Janoo said.

PTI