Big cities okay with paying up to Rs 1,300/kg for Darjeeling Tea

Sutanuka Ghosal, ET Bureau | 20 Jul, 2015, KOLKATA: While it was always a favourite with tea lovers in the eastern part of India, people from Delhi and Mumbai are gradually developing a taste for Darjeeling tea and are ready to pay as much as Rs 1,200-1,300 a kg for this variety .

Darjeeling tea producers and retailers said that offtake has increased by almost 50 per cent this year for both first and second flush teas than last year. "It is being seen as a lifestyle product in Delhi and Mumbai, and that's why demand for Darjeeling tea is increasing among the upwardly mobile consumers," said SS Bagaria, chairman, Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA).

First flush Darjeeling tea is harvested in mid-March following spring rains and has a gentle, light coloured aroma and mild astringency. The second flush is harvested in June and produces an amber, full-bodied, muscatel-flavoured cup. Bagaria said all these years Darjeeling tea was seen as a beverage popular among people of West Bengal and north eastern India. "But now that is changing. There is a strong demand for Darjeeling tea from places such as Delhi, Mumbai and even Ahmedabad and Bengaluru," he said.

Abhijeet Mazumdar, owner of Camellia Twigs in Delhi's Indraprastha Extension area, said, "We bought 15 per cent more from the auctions as demand is rising. People are ready to pay any amount for the premium Darjeeling tea, and sales have gone up by about 50 per cent at our store.They are buying Darjeeling tea, both in green and black tea form. This has happened because general awareness of tea has increased."

His views were echoed by a Dadar-based Darjeeling tea retailer who said earlier people used to come for plain CTC tea, but now they are buying Darjeeling."Footfalls at our store are increasing for this premium variety," he said. Darjeeling produces 9 million kg of tea annually at its 87 tea estates. In the export market, the demand for Darjeeling tea has grown unlike last year when Europe was sourcing less tea. Bagaria also explained that demand is coming from the USA, China and Korea besides traditional markets like the UK, Germany and Japan.

But despite the rise in demand, Darjeeling exporters are facing a tough time as foreign buyers are refusing to compensate them for the exchange rate losses. About a year ago, the euro was at 80-84 to a rupee, but now the rate is 68.74, which is a significant drop. Though the pricing of these teas is the same in euro terms, in rupee terms it means less income for the sellers.

For Darjeeling growers, the loss is significant, as a large portion of the teas are exported. In fact, most of the first flush is exported. "Prices of Darjeeling in the export market have not changed much. Foreign buyers are not willing to pay higher prices; maybe, 5-10 per cent more in some cases," he said.