Ceylon Tea coming from the resplendent island nation, Sri Lanka is recognized for her well balanced tasting profile by tea connoisseurs all over the globe. By the way, India is also producing some of the finest teas in the world namely Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri etc. As The Times of India had reported, India has emerged as the largest exporter of tea to China The world’s biggest tea producer — in 2019, overtaking Sri Lanka.

Indian tea export to China has trebled in the last half a decade, with 12 million kg (mkg) shipped to China mainland between January and November 2019, up from just 3.6 mkg of 2014. Sri Lanka, the second-largest exporter of tea to China, exported 9 mkg in the same period.

China, from where the British had sourced tea bushes to start plantations in India centuries ago, is currently the fourth-largest tea export market for India. 

India and China have both been vying for the Ceylon tea’s share of the world tea market. Industry experts believe that stricter non-tariff barriers, quarantine parameters and differences in lab-testing methods for agro-chemical residue have posed big hurdles for growth in tea exports to China.

In 2019, Indian exporters fetched an average of $2.31 per kilo of leaves in China, compared with $3.6 per kilo grossed in 2014. “Once non-tariff barriers (NTB) are addressed, Indian tea exports to China could attain exponential growth,” Indian Tea Association (ITA) secretary Sujit Patra Said.

Last year, ITA had tied up with the China Tea Marketing Association (CTMA) for trade boost, knowledge-sharing and promotion. … took part in a global contest in China, where Goodricke Group and James Warren Tea bagged the ‘best’ and ‘most robust’ quality awards, among 850 samples from a number of countries. This is probably a learning curve for Sri Lanka. These PR activities are so vital for medium and long term trade growth.

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References

1. Original Post: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/storm-in-a-cuppa-india-pips-lanka-becomes-top-tea-exporter-to-china/articleshow/73502765.cms
2. About Ceylon Tea: https://www.pureceylontea.com/
3. About Indian Tea: http://www.teaboard.gov.in/