The Russian Market of Tea - June 2012 (Russian Market Report)

Author: Petar Reshovski

Tea is a drink obtained by cooking, brewing or infusing a leaf tea bush, which was previously prepared in a special way. The tea plant is botanically classified as a related family of Tea (Theaceae), the genus Chai (Tea) and morphologically classified into two types: Chinese (Thea Sinensis) and Assamese (Thea Assamica).

Tea is classified according to the following types:

• The type of tea plant;

• The origin;

• The duration and method of oxidation;

• The type of tea leaf and its machining.

The Russian tea market in 2011 amounted to a total volume of 180, 300 tons (up 4% over 2010), which came primarily from raw materials imported from China, India, Indonesia and other areas in Asia. The total volume of imports of tea in 2011 amounted to 188, 400 tons. The volume of exports of tea, excluding Kazakhstan, totaled only to 7.08 tons. If Kazakhstan is included, the total exports in 2011 amount to 8, 080.21 tons.

There had been an upward trend of Russian tea production until the financial crisis dug its claws into the market. The growth rates: in 2006 - 119%, in 2007 - 106% and in 2008 - 105%, were replaced by a drop off in 2009 (production fell by 28%) and continued until the Fall of 2011. According to forecasts, over the next few years (from 2012-2015), the tea production will increase by 3% to 6% in real terms.

The main regions of tea production in 2011 were the North-West Federal District - 62.9%, the Central Federal District - 37.0% and the Volga Federal District - 0.1%.

The level of concentration of production in the industry quite high, dominated by the four largest producers who account for about 60% of total production. This is consistent with international practices, which allows companies to make capital investments in equipment upgrades and to reach a new levels of technology. Russia’s major tea manufacturing facilities are located in the Central (39.2%), the North-West (51.1%), and the Federal (8.7%) Districts. The largest producers are "Orimi-Trade", "the Company in May", "Unilever Rus”, and ”SDS-Foods."

The largest importer in value terms in 2011 was the company “Ahmad Tea Inc.”, which had 6.6% of the total volume of tea imports in Russia. The second place was taken by “Girnar Food & Beverages Pvt. Ltd” with a share of 5.3%. “Akbar Brothers Ltd.” were on the third place with 4.2%.

Find more information on: http://russianmarketreport.com/sale_reports/product/russia-tea-market-analysis-and-forecast-to-2017-1

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