Tea Board identifies Air India property for Tea Centre in Cairo

Kolkata, May 14 (UNI) Tea Board has identified a property of Air India to set up India Tea Centre in Cairo.

Tea Board of India Chairman Basudeb Banerjee said, '' We have selected a 2,000 sq feet property in Cairo and the centre will be set up to boost tea marketing in Egypt. '' The Tea Centre would be set up on a private-private model, and run by the Indian Tea Association, a body of growers and trade in West Bengal, Assam and North-East, and the United Planters Association of South India, representing tea growers in South.

The Tea Board would support the venture under the market access initiative by paying 75 per cent of the rental in the first year, 50 per cent in the second year and 33.33 per cent in the third year, Mr Banerjee said.

Egypt has been identified as an important export market for Indian tea.

Industry experts believe that more Indian tea would be exported to Egypt this year following the Egyptian government's decision to source six million kg tea from outside common markets of Eastern and Southern Africa(Comesa), a trade organisation of countries in the region.

Egypt joined Comesa in 1998 and procures tea through two agencies, El Nasar and Misr. Initially, a 50 per cent duty was imposed on import of tea outside the member countries of Comesa, and that led to India losing its foothold in Egypt.

Since then, the duty had been brought down in stages. It is now pegged at two per cent.

An Indian delegation during its visit to Egypt in March, enthused by the prospects of promoting Indian tea, decided to set up an Indian Tea Trade Centre in Cairo.

UNI