COIMBATORE. Feb 1: The rupee-rouble agreement ar rived at during the Russian President, Boris Yeltsin s recent visit to India Is expected to boost the country's tea exports to Russia and other Commonwealth of Indepen dent states, which touched the Nadir last year, reports PTI

The Indian plantation sector, more particularly the south Indian tea exporters, whose economy was battered by the low export off-take by Russian markets last year, stands to benefit as India could pay off its debts to Russia only through export of commodities like tea. tobacco and leather, said B Slvaram. Secretdry-Oeneral, United Planters Association of southern India, the Coonoor-based apex body of south Indian planters.

Tea exports to Russia, the biggest tea importer among the CIS, and other CIS coun tries of the erstwhile Soviet Union went away last year In the aftermath of the political and economic uncertainty that prevailed there, with the result that India could realist only a drastically cut export of 40-50 per cent of the 100 million kg normally exported, he told newsmen who visited the Upasl Headquarters at Coonoor yesterday.

The brightening prospects

for exports to the erstwhile Soviet bloc comes as good news for south Indian tea pro ducer* as nearly 80 per cent of the average 45 million kg exported from this region is account' red for by the Russian market alone But last year, the total volume of south India s tea export came down to 31 million kg and Its export to Russia and other CIS countries an all time-low of just 10 million kg as against the 38 million kg in 1991

stvaram said though India could totally export only half the 100 million kg of tea to CIS countries tn 1992, including the quantity which reached the Russian markets indirectly through third country exporters, It partly made up that loss by exporting roughly 25 million kg of tea to new markets In UAE and some European countries

With the accord offering promises and India's tea prospects for 1993 looking up. the country hoped to regain the Russian and CIS markets if not to the old level at least to 60 per cent of the previous level of exports There Is also a thinking among Indian tea exporters now that they should step up their efforts to enlarge their export net to cover newer markets.