|
Turkey's exotic call: Eurasian flavorings influence culture mix
Next time in Istanbul, I'm hiring the Screaming Shopper. It was a hot July day when I was cooling my heels in the hotel bar waiting for friends. But the party had to wait until Joe and Mary Lou Rimsky finished their four-hour shopping blitz at the Grand Bazaar. This was no small venture. The Rimskys were prowling for three new Turkish rugs for their Cincinnati home. Shopping for Turkish rugs is a complex ritual of tea-drinking and rug-unfurling, so the thought of scoring three in a matter of hours boggles the mind. The Grand Bazaar boggles the eyes, the ears and the mind, with more than 4,000 shops spread over 61 streets under one roof. It's fascinating and confounding, with pulsating colors and beckoning vendors. Please, have a cup of tea and see our rugs.
India aims to regain top spot in Russia tea market
MOSCOW (Reuters) - India is seeking to restore its leading position in Russia's tea market by increasing sales and setting up joint ventures, a senior industry official said on Thursday.
"We are planning to become No. 1 again through supplying high-quality teas to Russia and creating joint ventures with Russian importers," said Basudev Banerjee, chairman of the Tea Board of India.
"We want the producers to be here in Russia," he said during a visit to Russia with a delegation from the Tea Board.
Russia is traditionally a tea-drinking country, consuming about 170,000 tonnes per year. It was India's main tea export market before 2001, but Indian exports to Russia declined to about 30,000 tonnes in 2006 from 113,000 tonnes in 2000.
Other countries, including Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, Kenya and Vietnam, increased their market share in the meantime.
| 
