The Hindu Business Line : Tea output may remain stable at 945 mkg

Ahmedabad, May 23 The country’s existing tea production at 945 million kg (mkg ) annually is likely to remain unchanged but the country’s export of tea to Egypt may increase from five mkg in 2007 to 8 to 10 mkg this year.

Since no fresh land is being brought under tea cultivation due to the States’ reluctance to encourage use of agricultural or forest land for the purpose, the country’s tea production is expected to remain stable, an official said. Egypt’s increased import of tea from India, to supplement its own production of 4.9 mkg, is due to the prevailing drought and political instability in Kenya which has reduced production by 20 per cent there, Mr Basudeb Banerjee, Chairman, Tea Board of India, who recently toured Egypt to promote the production, told reporters here on Friday.

Exports

Prices are expected to remain globally high but the rise is unlikely to affect exports.

Last year, India produced 945 mkg of tea, of which 200 mkg was exported at an average price of $2 a kg.

About 80-90 mkg of exports were in the category of orthodox (leaf) tea, he said.

Production

The average productivity of tea is 1,800 kg an acre. Of the1,600 tea estates, 22 have closed down in the recent past.

However, the country has now come out of the recession felt in this industry between 1999 and 2006. Assam was the largest tea producer (51 per cent), followed by West Bengal (24 per cent) and the southern States, including Tamil Nadu (17 per cent).

The average per capita consumption of tea is 750 gm a year, less than in Pakistan (1 kg).

Other countries

China produces only green tea whereas India produces both leaf and CTC varieties, unlike Sri Lanka and Kenya which predominantly produce orthodox and CTC brands, respectively.

Russia is the largest importer of Indian tea (40 mkg), followed by the UK and the UAE (20 mkg each) and Iran and Iraq.

Of late, the UK and Dubai have emerged as major re-exporting hubs for Indian tea.

Mr Banerjee, who was here to participate in a programme of Western India Tea Dealers Association, said the Board would be spending about Rs 5 crore annually on welfare of the labourers working on tea estates.