Govt seam hands with WTCE for promotion of tea trade

The apex tea body Tea Board of India, under the Ministry of Commerce, has booked a large pavilion at the World Tea and Coffee Expo (WTCE), slated to be held between October 20 and 22, 2016 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon, Mumbai.
With the expo becoming the definite platform for the hot beverage sector to meet and transact business deals, the Tea Board of India has doubled its pavilion size for 2016 vis-a-vis 2015. This reflects not only the strong growth potential of the Indian markets, but also of the board’s commitment to ensure the healthy growth of the tea sector.
Tea Board of India is at the forefront of making the country the leading producer and supplier of quality tea in the global market and also works towards the upliftment of this vital sector, encouraging the use of latest technology, devising export policies, ensuring labour welfare and spreading awareness about sustainability issues.
A few initiatives of the board include accident insurance scheme for plantation workers, launching of e-auction to bring uniformity in rules across all auction centres and fetching better prices to sellers,growers, participating in WTCE and encouraging farming of tea in newer areas like north India.
With buyers from across India and the world converging at the WTCE every year, the expo gives a push to the tea sector in both international and domestic markets. Besides the exhibition, the event comprises a two-day high-level conference and workshops on tea and coffee. WTCE has become the ideal launch pad for new products, especially by small and medium enterprises (SME), who do not have big budgets.
The event is attended by the hotel, restaurant and cafe (HoReCa) sector, retailers, wholesalers, importers, exporters, chain stores, food and beverage managers, spa managers, hotels/hotel chains, vendors, suppliers, grocers, resorts, tea and coffee houses, spice manufacturers and allied professionals. The Indian market has matured to a great extent as seen from the rise in the demand for specialty tea and surge in exclusive tea retail chains.