June 12, 2003	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1424

NEW DELHI, June 11: A trade delegation from India, the world’s largest tea producer, will visit Pakistan later this month to push tea sales as tensions between the nuclear rivals ease, an industry official said on Wednesday.

The Indian Tea Association (ITA) team, which leaves on June 28 for a five-day visit, is the first Indian trade group to visit Islamabad since the two nations massed troops in a stand-off last year due to their conflict over the disputed Kashmir region.

Pakistan is the world’s third largest importer of tea after Russia and Britain, and imports around 130 million kg annually. It buys most of its tea from Kenya, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

“The ITA delegation will include at least 10 top Indian exporters and producers. We are keen to sell to the Pakistani market, which is very promising,” Sujit Patra, deputy secretary of the ITA, told Reuters from Calcutta.—Reuters