Russia steps up buying Indian tea, even at a premium: Report

Tea (Representative Image)

Russia has stepped up the purchase of Indian tea in the last fortnight and is even paying a premium for the brew, according to an Economic Times report.

Increased demand from a country which is one of the largest buyers of Indian tea has resulted in as much as a 50 percent jump in the prices of orthodox tea - loose leaf tea manufactured in the traditional way, the report said.

Reportedly, prices of good quality CTC tea have also zoomed by up to 40 percent, since Russia consumes this variety as well.

The Russia-Ukraine war, that started in February this year, had disrupted Indian tea exports to Russia. "The Russian market for Indian tea is extremely important as there are payment issues for shipments to Iran, another vital tea export destination. Around 18 per cent of India’s tea shipments go to Russia,” India Tea Association chairperson Nayantara Palchoudhuri told PTI.

Orthodox tea is loose-leaf tea, which is produced using traditional method which involves plucking, withering, rolling and drying. It is known to have more of a layered, bright and brisk taste.

CTC or Crush Tear Curl production has a different process. All five steps of Orthodox processing are performed, but much more rapidly and in a limited fashion. CTC was invented specifically for the black tea industry.  It usually has steep, quicker, stronger and very bold tastes and even bitter notes.

According to a report by India Brand Equity Foundation, Russia is one of the major importers of tea from India. During 2021-2022, it imported 32.5 million kg of tea from India.