The meeting was aimed at expanding India’s exports of tea and coffee to Bhutan
As part of the celebrations to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of India’s Independence, a virtual Buyer-Seller Meet was held on Thursday in Thimphu between Indian exporters and Bhutanese importers to promote Indian tea and coffee in Bhutan.
The event was organized by the Embassy of India (EoI) in collaboration with Tea Board India; Coffee Board India; Indian Tea Association (ITA); Tea Coffee Association (TCA), India; Indian Chamber of International Business (ICIB); and the Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI).
Speaking at the event, Ambassador of India to Bhutan Ms. Ruchira Kamboj said that the virtual meeting was aimed at expanding India’s exports of tea and coffee to Bhutan.
She added, “Indian tea and coffee are already quite popular in Bhutan, however, there is even greater scope for promoting these commodities in the Bhutanese market.”
She emphasized that, through this meeting and subsequent interactions, the Indian side should be able to penetrate the Bhutanese market better for mutual benefit of both sides.
This meeting provided an opportunity for Bhutanese importers to have greater exposure on the production and export of tea and coffee from India and also helped the Indian side gain a better understanding about the requirements of the market in Bhutan.
The event included an interactive business networking session with participation from leading Indian exporters of tea and coffee including Jardine Henderson Ltd. (Rydak Syndicate Ltd.), GD CAFE Pvt. Ltd., The South India Coffee Company, Woodpeckers Coffee Trading House, Krish Food and Fun (India) Pvt. Ltd., Araku Aroma Coffee, and interested Bhutanese importers and dealers.
The Bhutanese buyers also sampled gourmet tea and coffee provided by the Indian companies. The tea and coffee traders from both sides carried out detailed discussions to explore innovative ways to improve trade.
Meanwhile, in the last two years, Bhutan’s import of tea from India increased by almost 50% from 379MT (Rs. 7.7crore) in 2019 to 554MT (Rs. 13.1crore) in 2020, comprising 99.40% of Bhutan’s total tea imports.
During this same period, however, Bhutan’s import of coffee from India decreased by 40% from 9.5MT (Rs. 33lakh) in 2019 to 5.70MT (Rs. 17lakh) in 2020, comprising 40.43% of Bhutan’s total coffee imports.
Meanwhile, India is the second largest producer of tea in the world. India is the third largest producer and exporter of coffee in Asia, and the sixth largest producer and fifth largest exporter of coffee in the world.
Starting from yesterday (November 26), the Embassy in collaboration with three cafes in Thimphu – Ambient Cafe, Cloud9 Cafe, and Coffee Culture –started a special India Tea and Coffee Promotion Week from till December 5 with a specially curated menu of beverages and artisanal dessert made with gourmet Indian tea and coffee provided by the Indian companies.
Kinley Yonten from Thimphu
