I don't know about Darjeeling, but it's true that Indian teas in
general used to have the USSR and Iraq and other Arab or Muslim
countries as their main export markets. But in recent years they
face tougher competition, particularly from Sri Lanka, which
exports teas of higher quality (orthodox as opposed to India's
mainly CTC teas), but at competitive prices.

"The Immoral Mr Teas" skrev i melding
om...
Lewis Perin wrote in message

Darjeeling's main buyers were the USSR and Iraq? That can't
be right.


I've really no idea, but it wouldn't surprise me ... I take it
that
the article is talking about you general low grade leaf that
powers
the market, not the best leaf, first picking, single estate,
etc
product we might imagine.
In England, although DARJEELING is a household word its
certainly not
a particularly popular tea, either by itself or as a
significant
contribution to the make up of a blend.