A NORTH Yorkshire company has achieved the near impossible - selling tea to China.

Taylors of Harrogate has cracked what could be considered one of the world's most difficult markets, selling tea to the Chinese.

The specialist tea and coffee merchant already exports to 30 different countries, but now it has added this new one to its list.

Its first shipment to Shanghai - a £30,000 order of flavoured teas - was sent out this month. The order included China Rose Petal tea, which is grown in China and then imported, blended and packaged by Taylors, before being exported back to China.

Taylors has been exporting its teas for 12 years and over the past two years has been developing new markets with advice from Business Link York and North Yorkshire.

International trade adviser Peter Tweddle, of Business Link, encouraged Taylors' exports co-ordinator Emma Laing to attend the Passport To Export course, a programme that provides companies with training, planning advice and ongoing support in developing overseas markets.

As part of the programme, run by the government agency UK Trade and Investment, Mr Tweddle provided one-to-one support to help Taylors develop the skills and confidence to ensure its export strategies work.

Taylors export manager Madeline Wolfe said: "The opportunity to export to China came about through a distributor in Taiwan who we have been working with for the past couple of years.

"By applying the skills we learnt through Passport To Export, we were able to successfully follow the export process through to completion."

Mr Tweddle said: "Taylors' first shipment to China opens up a new and exciting market for them.

"China is a notoriously difficult market to penetrate.

"However, it would seem the Chinese are developing a taste for Yorkshire tea."

Updated: 09:52 Thursday, June 24, 2004