Embassy of India
Beijing
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INDIAN TEA PROMOTION SEMINAR
AND BUYER SELLER MEET (24 October 2018, 1630 Hrs)

REMARKS BY AMBASSADOR

Mr. Wang Qing, President,China Tea Marketing Association,
Mr. Arun Kumar Ray, Deputy Chairman, Tea Board of India,
Tea Importers and Exporters from India and China.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. It is my great pleasure to extend a very warm welcome to all of you at today’s Indian Tea promotion event titled “Brewing Tea - Bonding Relations”.

2. Tea is very well known in both China and India. In fact, Tea made its first appearance in India when it was transported from China. Today, the Tea drinking culture is widespread in both our countries. We are two of the world’s largest consumers of tea, we are the largest producers of tea and we are also some of the largest exporters of tea.

3. The tea trade between India and China goes back in history. The ancient Tea-Horse trade route connected Yunnan Province in China to the tea-growing regions of India in West Bengal and Assam. Today, China is major producer of Green Tea with annual production of 2550 million kilograms. India is a major producer of Black Tea with annual production of 1,278 million kilograms. India is the third largest tea exporter to China occupying 17% of the market share. Last year, India exported tea worth USD 25 million to China. The graph is headed upwards as our people begin liking different kinds of tea.

4. As we all know, tea is famous for its medicinal value also. This fact is well known in both India and China. Today, with increasing interaction across the globe, the popularity of tea among the youth of our countries is growing. There are many reports which suggest that China’s young people like Black tea and Black tea-based beverages. Similarly, in India, people are now beginning to like Green tea and Herbal tea. It is for this reason that we believe that the possibility of exporting Indian tea to China is rising. That is why we are organizing this Tea Promotion event today.

5. The Indian delegation will introduce five different types of Tea from India this evening. They are well known not only in India but also in other countries, including China. I hope all of you will enjoy the tea tasting and the unique aromas of Indian tea. I also hope that our Chinese friends will import more Indian tea from the large number of Indian exporters who are present here today.

6. I wish you a very pleasant evening. I am confident that today’s event will be extremely successful.

Thank you.

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