"Today's meeting is very timely as we at the Embassy of India in Azerbaijan believe that there is a huge scope for diversifying our economic engagement with Azerbaijan, a country with a population of over 10 million and a GDP of US $ 50 billion, as the country offers good opportunities for Indian products and services. Despite the pandemic, our economic engagements with Azerbaijan continue to expand," Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Bavitlung Vanlalvawna said at a business meeting on India-Azerbaijan tea cooperation.
"After a rather difficult year in 2020, last year saw our bilateral trade rebounding. In fact, our total trade increased by 27 % compared to the previous year, and our exports also increased by around 15%. Although it is still not possible for our businesses to travel to each other, we have maintained our contacts by organizing various B2B meetings either in the hybrid mode or at one-to-one levels," he added.
"Indian tea has always been very well known in Azerbaijan for the past many years. This is because there is a recognition that Indian tea is one of the finest globally because of its solid geographical indications, continuous innovations, and investments among tea growers, producers, and tea processing units. We are, therefore, of the view, there is much opportunity to increase our market share in the Azerbaijani market. We also recognize that the present share of Indian tea in Azerbaijan is not commensurate with the size of the Indian tea industry, which exports close to the US $ 800 million worth of tea annually.
"Our present share in the market, which stood at below 5% of Azerbaijan total imports of tea, could perhaps be explained by the fact that other suppliers, including Sri Lanka and Russia, have been more active in the market or are having some other advantages including pricing, locational or better transportation links. But we should be convinced that Indian products, including tea, have enjoyed both price and quality advantages in many parts of the world," Vanlalvawna said.