Sri Lanka Pavilion to showcase Ceylon Tea at 3rd Edition Of"World Tea & Coffee Expo 2015in Mumbai

With Indian consumption of Sri Lankan tea rising rapidly, the Sri Lanka Tea Board ( SLTB) has reserved a special pavilion at the 3rd edition of World Tea & Coffee Expo ( WTCE) 2015 being held at Mumbai, India's commercial capital, from October 1 to 3, the Indian organisers of the event said in a media release.

Under the aegis of the SLTB, a number of companies would showcase various kinds of bulk and packeted tea aimed at increasing bilateral trade with India, it was stated.

According to SLTB Chairman Y. G. Wijeratne, "India has a large and growing consumer base with varied levels of income, making it a great market for all kinds of tea. Our participation in WTCE 2015 will enable us to promote Sri Lankan companies in India at a dedicated trade fair which provides an opportunity to directly interact with Indian buyers, potential partners and government officials."

Although India is the second largest producer of tea in the world - because of its population size - it is also the second largest consumer of tea, it was noted. With changing lifestyles, large- scale urbanization and mushrooming of upscale cafes for both tea and coffee, demand for non- traditional tea like Premium tea, green tea, white tea, etc is growing at 20 per cent annually, the board stated. Due to shortage of high quality premium tea supply in India, Indian branded tea companies buy premium tea from Kenya and Sri Lanka, the release said.

The 3rd World Tea & Coffee Expo 2015 offers a platform,

Under the aegis of the SLTB, a number of companies would showcase various kinds of bulk and packeted tea aimed at increasing bilateral trade with India, it was stated. According to SLTB Chairman Y.G. Wijeratne, "India has a large and growing consumer base with varied levels of income, making it a great market for all kinds of tea. Our participation in WTCE 2015 will enable us to promote Sri Lankan companies in India at a dedicated trade fair which provides an opportunity to directly interact with Indian buyers, potential partners and government officials."

which promises to not only boost the Indian Tea and Coffee industry but also strengthen relationships between India and the participating nations.

Ms. Priti M. Kapadia, Director, Sentinel Exhibitions Asia P Ltd, organisers of the expo, said, "The World Tea & Coffee Expo was launched in 2013 to offer an organized avenue for all the industry stakeholders to come together under a single roof for networking, business expansion and ideas exchange.

The Expo shall emphasize the prospects of the Hot Beverage sector as also showcase technological innovations in this important sector."