India’s tea imports in the first quarter of this calendar year declined by almost 16 per cent to 4.23 million kg, according to the Tea Board data. The country had imported 5.02 million kg of tea in the January-March 2010 period.

While imports from Kenya, Argentina, the UK and Nepal increased, in-bound shipments from Vietnam, Malawi, China and the UAE decreased.

Kenya exported 1.47 million kg of tea to India in the first quarter of 2011 as compared to 0.42 million kg in the year-ago period.

Tea exports from Vietnam to India stood at 0.07 million kg as against 1.65 million kg in the review period, as per the data.

India, the second biggest producer of tea in the world, accounts for about 28 per cent of global tea production and 14 per cent of trade. There are about 1,600 tea estates in India.

The industry employs more than 2 million people.

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