Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/694455
18 STiR tea & coffee industry international / Issue 3, 2016 (June/July) Tea Report: Jane Pettigrew INDIA Darjeeling e-Auction Beginning in June, Darjeeling tea will for the first time be part of India's eAuction network. The tea, grown at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains in West Bengal, has for the past 150 years been auctioned privately at weekly sessions dominated by the largest tea wholesalers in the world. Commerce secretary Rita Teaotia, who announced the decision, said that including lots from Darjeeling will result in "better price discovery" as bidders outside the traditional circle of traders will have an opportunity to purchase these teas. Private auctions favor large tea brokers representing firms in Japan, Europe, and the United States. These countries import most of the 9 million kilos produced annually. flush." These early teas fetch the highest revenue of the year. Growers estimated March and April production to be below one million kilos compared to 1.5 million kg in 2015. Producers are hopeful that they will be able to make up the shortfall later in the year. Group, launched an initiative worth 420 Kenya shillings (approximately $4.16 million) to train smallholder farmers in soil management, use of fertilizers, business skills, financial management, and farm management, in order to help them improve tea yields and therefore increase levels of income. KTDA operates 67 factories in Kenya and buys fresh leaf from 560,000 small-scale growers who are also shareholders in the factories. Agriculture is a very important source of employ- ment in Kenya and support for the sector is a priority for IFC in Africa. The joint initiative began in 2012 and IFC made a further loan of $55 million earlier this year to finance seven small hydropower plants to provide electricity to KTDA tea factories. IFC funding has been made possible by the Government of Japan. Tania Lozansky, IFC head of advisory for manufacturing, agribusiness, and services said, "IFC is committed to supporting companies like KTDA, which have the potential to improve living standards and reduce poverty for rural farmers." Difficult Start to Season Assam and Darjeeling tea growers experienced a difficult start to the year. Assam's first flush quantities were down due to too much rain and a drop in temperature in past weeks that has caused worries for producers about second flush teas. Too much rain in too short a period is bad for the crop and also means that land becomes waterlogged, which can be disastrous for the plants. Estimates predict that Assam's first flush will be down from 44 million kg last year to 34 million kg this year. Meanwhile, too little rain in Darjeeling has caused a drop in production of 40%. President of the Darjeeling Tea Associa- tion S. S. Bagaria said that in the early weeks of the season, "A drought-like situation was going on. With a rainfall scarcity in February, the first flush has already been affected while concerns have risen for the second Tea garden in Darjeeling, India JAPAN Japanese Tea Ambassadors Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries has recently established a scheme to promote good quality Japanese tea. 'Nihon-cha Ambassadors' (Nihon means Japan) have been appoint- ed to promote good quality Japanese green teas in order to differentiate them from the cheap poor quality green teas that are widely available in the European and North America. The new 'ambassadors' have been selected from among qualified Nihon- cha instructors living outside Japan and, once appointed, they are given the relevant equipment and teas by the Nihon-cha Instructor Association to allow them to organize and present tea events and seminars in the countries where they live. Such events are usually organized in collaboration with the Japanese Embassy in the relevant countries. The aim is to help people understand and appreciate real high quality Japanese green teas. There are currently 18 tea ambassadors in Canada, the US, France, Italy, and Southeast Asia. KENYA KTDA to Boost Income In April, the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), in partnership with IFC, a member of the World Bank Nihon-Cha Ambassadors RWANDA Tea Exports Will Double During the first three months of 2016, Rwanda has more than doubled its tea export receipts from $7.1 million in the first three months of 2015 to $18.8 million. The country exported 6.8 million kilos of tea during the first quarter of this year. The increase in quantity and volume is due to the new Muganza Kive Tea Factory in Nyaruguru District, Southern Province, and the encouragement given to smallholder farmers by Karongi, Mushubi and Rutsiro tea factories. Investment in the distribution of farm Rwanda exports expected to double