NEW DELHI: Uzbeks like to have tea before a meal, with a meal, and after a meal, which shows how integrated tea is with their palate and culture. They are now looking to increase tea imports from India.“We are a tea-drinking nation, and in earlier times, it was primarily Indian tea that we were used to consuming. However, things changed, and imports from India declined. We hope to import more from India now,” said an Uzbek official.According to statistics, in 2022, Uzbekistan imported $63.1 million worth of tea, out of which the lion’s share ($41.5 million) was from China.India’s exports are rather small at present, but considering the fact that India is the second-largest producer of tea and a significant exporter ($706 million annually), it is now exploring ways to increase exports to Uzbekistan.A trade delegation recently visited Kolkata and held meetings with members of tea organizations, generating renewed optimism about increasing imports from India.India is among the top 10 trade partners of Uzbekistan, with bilateral trade amounting to $756.60 million.In 2022, India’s exports to Uzbekistan reached $512 million. These exports were primarily packaged medicaments ($220 million), raw sugar ($34.7 million), and vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins, and cultures ($18.9 million). Over the past five years, India’s exports to Uzbekistan have increased at an annualized rate of 18.9% from $215 million in 2017 to $512 million in 2022.
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