Abstract:
The study raises the issue of export competitiveness of Indian tea
over the last three decades. It discusses the changing institutional
architecture governing world tea market in a liberalized world economy.
During the last two decades, institutional landscape affecting the export
competitiveness environment has changed considerably both globally
and locally. Formation of WTO in 1995, various multilateral and
bilateral trade agreements, imposition of environment and labour
standards, exchange rate fluctuation all have an impact on export
competitiveness of Indian tea. As part of wider process of global
restructuring of tropical product value chain, the role of commodity
boards has changed from that of marketing to that of a facilitator of
grade and price stabilization schemes. The earlier arrangements have
been progressively dismantled and into this place has emerged a host
of emergent forms of market exchange and coordination. New structures
have reshaped income flows and cost burden. Branded tea manufacturing
had become a highly concentrated sector in most national markets with
a common group of multinationals dominating. This study analyses
different aspects of export competitiveness of Indian tea in the context
of changing institutional architecture. It takes into account aspects
like existence of huge domestic market and increasing domestic
consumption, relative price of Indian tea in global market, changing
product mix, multilateral trade agreement and free trade zones, quality
of Indian tea in view of emergence of small growers, institutional
interventions etc.
