Big potential for tea business between India, China: Envoy

Chinese Consul General in Kolkata, Zha Liyou, on Friday said there is a big potential for tea business between India and China.

He said Indian tea producers have direct contact with Chinese dealers and producers.

''There is a big potential for tea business between our countries,'' the outgoing Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Kolkata told reporters here.

He said China consumes tea, but in its traditional way.

''If the tea standards can be integrated, China could be a huge market,'' he said, adding, it could be a mutually beneficial market.

The Indian Tea Association is a “very strong platform” working with the Chinese tea marketing association, the envoy said.

''The Indian practice of managing tea estates is very special – you run your estates more like a company, while the Chinese tea culture is more community and village-owned…'' he said.