Maran moots futures trading in tea

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 22. The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Murasoli Maran, today mooted the idea of developing forward and futures markets to ensure stability in tea prices. Speaking at the inauguration of the India International Millennium Tea Convention here today, he emphasised the need for evolving risk management tools, which have been used to deal with price uncertainties in commodity markets such as coffee, cocoa and sugar, for the tea industry. The trading of 85 per cent of the total world tea production through auctions, which are spot markets, is the peculiarity of the tea industry, he said.

The three-day convention, being jointly organised by Tea Board of India and the Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA), is being attended by nearly 800 delegates of which 200 are foreign delegates and experts from countries like Germany, U.K., Japan and Canada.

The Minister urged the tea industry to systematically go in for generic promotion of tea as it was facing stiff competition from coffee and carbonated drinks.

The projected annual growth rate of consumption of tea worldwide was just moderate, he felt. Mr. Maran appealed to the entire tea fraternity to rise above their brand loyalties and cooperate in a joint endeavour for promotion of tea.

He also referred to the discovery of anti-oxidants in black and green teas, discovery of anti-carcinogenic properties and the rediscovery of extraordinary revival and relaxing properties of tea, which could be used for generic promotion programmes.

He also underlined the desirability of achieving higher value- addition in tea to ensure better returns to the developing countries which are largely trading in tea in its commodity form only.

Referring to the unprecedented situation faced by the industry in terms of lower production, low exports and paradoxically lower prices, Mr. Maran urged the convention to address these concerns as well as ways and means to tackle these issues. He also emphasised the urgent need to harmonise various technical standards being used by the importing countries. He felt all tea exporting and importing countries should follow those standards. This would effectively result in the elimination of a major non- tariff trade barrier in the tea trade, he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Indian Tea Association, Mr. Jhawar urged the tea traders to shift their emphasis from competing among themselves and adopt a posture of ``compete and cooperate''.

74 p.c. FDI in plantations planned

NEW DELHI, MARCH 22. The Government will soon clear a proposal to allow foreign direct investment up to 74 per cent in the domestic plantation sector, the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr. Murasoli Maran, said today.

``A note is being sent to the group of ministers (GoM) to allow FDI up to 74 per cent in the plantation sector,'' Mr. Maran told reporters on the sidelines of the India international millennium tea convention here.

The Consultative Committee of Plantation Associations (CCPA) in a representation to Mr. Maran had demanded removal of prevailing restriction on FDI into plantation.

- PTI

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