Indian and Sri Lankan tea companies share new tea clones
View(s):The longstanding partnership between Tata Global Beverages and Watawala Plantation PLC has created a great platform for India to share the new clones and variants of teas they have developed with the Sri Lankan tea industry, according to Harish Bhat, Managing Director of Tata Global Beverages Ltd.
During a recent visit to Sri Lanka, he said India’s tea industry focuses mostly on innovation and research.
India’s Tea Board, last week, had allocated a staggering 1.5 billion rupees towards research and development. Also, it was reported that Rs. 200 million would be spent on developing weather resistant tea clones, the top Indian tea executive was quoted as saying in a statement issued by Watawala Plantation.
Harish Bhat
“The foundation of our partnership with Watawala Plantation is nothing but trust and transparency. We have a lot to share with each other. This partnership allows the Indian tea industry to share its commitment towards technology and innovation with Sri Lanka,” he said.
Tata Global Beverages, heavily involved in Sri Lanka’s tea industry, has a joint venture with Estate Management Services (Private) Limited, the company which manages the Sunshine Holdings subsidiary, Watawala Plantations PLC. Mr Bhat, a veteran of the industry who has been with the Tata group for nearly 25 years, is also a board director of Watawala Plantations PLC.
“We, as a company, are pleased to be engaged with the Sri Lankan tea industry. We have built a robust partnership with Sunshine Holdings through Watawala Plantation PLC spanning nearly 25 years. We have been together in good times and tough times. Both companies, I must say, have grown rapidly, particularly in the past several years, and we share a similar vision for the future” Bhat said.
Tata Global Beverages, a 1.5 billion dollar company involved in the beverage industry, is a global industry leader with a wide investment portfolio covering tea, coffee and mineral water. The company whose history spans across two centuries unites the beverage interests of Tata under one umbrella. Tetley, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Global Beverages, is the world’s second largest manufacturer and distributor of tea. Tetley’s manufacturing and distribution business, which spreads across 40 countries, sells over 60 branded tea bags. According to the Managing Director of Tata Global Beverages, the Company wants to keep investing in the business while creating strong brands.
Mr Bhat said that the contribution of Vish Govindasamy, Group Managing Director of Sunshine Holdings, is of great value to Tata Global Beverages as far as global strategies are concerned. “He, as a member of the Global Executive Office of Tata Global Beverages, is contributing to our global strategies. His business acumen and expertise in the industry adds a lot of value to Tata Global Beverages,” he said, adding that his company is determined to further strengthen its partnership with Watawala Plantations and Sunshine Holdings as a Group.
He also stressed the need of strengthening the position of Ceylon Tea in markets in the international market, although it already has a strong equity in several key markets. Like Cambodian Coffee and Darjeeling Tea, Sri Lanka too should strengthen the position of its flagship brand ‘Pure Ceylon Tea’ in the international market, he said adding that Ceylon Tea has a strong demand from the international market, particularly from India, Russia, Australia and the Middle East.
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