By IANS
Kolkata : Tata Tea, in collaboration with other enterprises, plans to popularise Indian tea as a prestigious international brand to regain its traditional markets abroad.
"Tata Tea and Tata Coffee are trying to form a joint forum to popularise Indian tea and coffee in the markets, which accounted for chunk of the exports," Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Jairam Ramesh said here Saturday.
"The forum will try to regain the tea and coffee market in Russia," Ramesh said.
He said Indian tea is gradually losing ground in Russia, which is traditionally known as its significant market. Last year the total volume of tea and coffee exports to Russia was just 32 million kg.
Interacting with the media, Tata Tea's managing director and Indian Tea Association (ITA) chairman P.T. Siganporia said his company was trying to explore the Russian market for promoting Indian brand there.
The Tea Board of India in joint venture with ITA is also trying to form a tea promotion centre at Cairo in Egypt to capture the emerging opportunities there.
Ramesh said Pakistan, Egypt and Iraq are the three new markets for Indian beverages and the Tea Board of India is looking forward to explore them in the days to come.
"Indian tea exports have come under pressure due to the appreciation of the rupee," the minister said.
"We are concerned over this fact but we will be happy if we can manage to touch last year's export figures," Ramesh said on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the ITA here.