The Chai Story Of India

India is one of the leading tea exporters of the world, but why is there almost no existence of any Indian tea brand in the global market?

- June Mukherjee

The tea industry has a critical position in the Indian economy. Tea is India’s primary beverage, with almost 85 pc of total households in the country consuming it either with or without milk and sugar. India is the world’s second-largest producer (after China) and second-largest consumer of tea accounting for 25-27 pc of world tea production. It is also one of the top tea exporters, with around 10-12 pc share of world exports. European countries holding a strong tea tradition have always been a strong tea export market for India. The British, German, Polish and French tea consumers are typical fans of fine flavoured Darjeeling tea that is only produced in India. But the consumer retail packets available in the European market look completely different from what we find in India; they are packaged in Europe by the local packaging companies. However, the flow of export from India has been continuing since ages in bulk quantity, but without any label.