Darjeeling,April
23:In an effort to generate awareness on Darjeeling
tea and create new markets for the commodity, key players of the
industry are heading for Hamburg in Germany on Sunday.
The team, comprising high-ranking officials
of Darjeeling Planter's Association (DPA) and the Tea Board, will
also educate the European consumers on Certification Trademark (CTM)
for Darjeeling tea, which was initiated by the Tea Board in 2000.
The CTM is an effort of the tea industry to protect Darjeeling tea
from adulteration. Over 40-million kg of tea is sold in the global
market every year under the brand name of Darjeeling tea despite
the fact that only 74-odd gardens in the Hills produce 10 million
kg of tea annually.
Secretary of DPA Sanjeev Seth said: "The chairman of DPA,
K.S. David, is already in Germany and the vice-chairman, Sanjay
Bansal, along with members of the governing body and Tea Board officials,
will be also going on a weeklong tour there."
The team will attend a three-day convention in Hamburg starting
Monday. It is also expected to visit other places in Germany.
With unscrupulous traders blending Darjeeling Tea with products
from other countries like Ceylon, the tea-industry in the Hills
is finding it difficult to compete at the global market.
While the average production cost of Darjeeling tea stands at around
Rs 250 per kg, the average auction sale of the tea last year was
only around Rs 150. Seth, however, added that the introduction of
CTM was playing a positive role in recovering some of the lost market.
The CTM ensures that anyone dealing in Darjeeling tea must enter
into a licence agreement with the Tea Board.
The Tea Board has also made it mandatory for all companies marketing
Darjeeling tea to have its seal of approval and the Darjeeling logo
on the pack. The representatives of the tea industry are also planning
aggressive marketing of the Darjeeling brand name in places like
the US, Japan and Europe, which are supposedly big markets for Darjeeling
tea.
Courtesy
The Telegraph |
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