Imports Accounts for 75% of National Tea Market
IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK
TEHRAN – Executive Manager of Iran’s Tea Factories Syndicate says decrease in export of domestic tea production is good news because most of domestic produced tea is used in the country, adding that exports of tea has no value added for the country.
Speaking to ILNA, Mohammad Sadeq Hassani said that Iran’s exports fell by one-fourth, adding that Iran’s Customs Administration statistics show that the total amount of Iran’s tea exports in ten months of this year has been around 4,000 tons while the figure stood at around 16,000 tons last year.
He added regarding recent developments and outbreak of coronavirus and halt in exports, adding it does not seem that Iran’s exports figure would change by the yearend.
Hassani noted that this year around 28,700 tons of tea has been produced in the country while the figure was 25,000 tons last year.
He pointed to growth of people’s tendency to domestic tea, adding that fall in exports does not mean that producers would suffer losses or would be unable to sell it, because their product has enjoyed with growth in domestic consumption.
Hassani noted that domestic produced tea has accounted for 25 percent of domestic tea consumption this year.
He reiterated that exported tea has no suitable vale added for the country, adding that every one kilo of good quality domestic produced tea is exported for one dollar while every one kilo of imported tea costs 5 dollars. He said this form of trade is not profitable and it is a loss.
Hassani went on to say that unfortunately despite fall in exports of tea, the domestic tea market witnesses large amount of imports.
He further refuted some statistics about the amount of tea consumed in the country, reiterating that the amount of tea consumption in the country is between 80,000 to 85,000 tons annually.
Hassani said that some 75,000 tons of tea has been imported so far this year and it seems it is more than the domestic need because of supply of domestic produced tea in the market.
