Owing to the growing demand for Nepali tea in the international markets, the National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB) and Trade & Export Promotion Center have decided to register trademark for Nepali tea by the end of current fiscal year.

To start with, NTCDB has planned to register the trademark for Nepali orthodox tea initially in the United States, Germany and Canada. “Based on the soaring demand from these countries, we have planned to step up and register the collective trademark,” says Sheshkanta Gautam, Executive Director of NTCDB.

This move to register a collective trademark is expected to expand the footprint of Nepali tea in the global orthodox tea market.

Despite the popularity across markets like the United States, Germany, Canada, South Korea and Japan for its aroma and taste, Nepali tea has been overshadowed by reputed products like Darjeeling tea because of poor branding.

However, its noteworthy that Nepali tea brands competed with the tea brands of various countries at both global and North American tea championship events and have also received awards for their quality and taste.

Two Years After Due Recognition

Nepali orthodox tea is in the list of exportable goods recognized by the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy 2016. However, it took two years for the Board to initiate the process of registering trademark for the same.

While Nepal produces two varieties of tea products, CTC and orthodox tea, almost 90 percent of it is exported to third countries.

Tea gardens in Nepal, spread across 28,000 hectares (mostly in the east) and gradually expanding to the central and western parts of the country, produce over 24 million kg of tea annually, with around 6 million kg of it being ‘orthodox tea’.

According to NTCDB statistics, Nepali tea shipment were valued Rs 2.40 billion in 2015-16, up from Rs 2 billion in the previous year.

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