Low production may affect Indian tea exports

KOLKATA: Low tea production due to unfavourable weather condition may affect Indian tea exports. The tea producers fear that even though they are flooded with export enquiries they will not be able to meet these enquiries due to a drop in production.

Azam Monem, director, McLeod Russel India Ltd said: ""Crop has been down by 11.5% in the first five months of 2012. In June and July production has not been encouraging due to severe rains in Assam. This is likely to affect production. Though there are export enquiries but a low production may affect meeting export requirements.""

Added C.S. Bedi, chairman of Indian Tea Association said: ""The demand in the domestic market is too strong. People are eager to buy quality teas. Therefore, with a lower production it will be difficult for us to meet the demand in the export market. In fact, export market is strong this year as the global production of tea has declined due to unfavourable weather condistion in the tea producing nations.""

Tea exports from India fell by 4% to 43.84 million kg in the first quarter of the current calender year on account of drop in outbound shipments of the brew from South India, according to Tea Board data.The country had shipped 45.76 million kg of tea in the January-March period of 2011 calender year.

Shipments of the brew from South India declined by 17%to 14.43 million kg in January-March 2012 from 17.42 million kg in the year-ago period. Exports from North India, however, rose by 4% to 29.41 million kg as against 28.34 million kg in the review period.

In the 2011-12 fiscal, tea exports fell by 11% to 190.95 million kg as compared to 213.79 million kg in the 2010-11 financial year. In the last calender year, tea shipments declined by 13% to 192.87 million kg from 222.02 million kg in 2010.

India, the world's second-largest producer and the biggest consumer of tea, exports the brew to Middle Eastern countries, the US and the EU.

Source : articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com