The black tea import has declined by 25 percent as Pakistan imported over 91.337 million kilograms of this commodity worth Rs 9.895 billion from different countries in 2007 financial year as compared to 113.996 million kilograms worth Rs 11.518 billion in 2006 financial year.
According to Pakistan Tea Association (PTA), Pakistan imports black tea from 21 different countries. Kenya is major tea exporting country to Pakistan with its share of over 60 percent of the total tea import in the country followed by India, which is second largest tea exporting country to Pakistan with its over six percent share in total tea imports in Pakistan.
The other tea exporting countries to Pakistan are Indonesia, Vietnam, Rwanda, China, Uganda, Sri Lanka and some other countries. "The black tea import through legal channels is on the decline since the last many years due to increasing import under Afghan Transit Trade Agreement (ATTA)", a leading tea importer told Business Recorder here on Saturday.
He said that though black tea was not consumed in Afghanistan as the people there used green tea (Qahwa), even then the import of black tea under the ATTA was increasing by over 10 percent annually. This showed that the tea imports under the ATTA was ultimately being sold in Pakistan, he added.
He said that consumption of black tea in Pakistan was over 16 million kilograms, ie one kilogram per person per annum, and opined that consumption of black tea should increased every year with the increase in population, but the tea import was much lower from this figure and its import was declining every year.