Indian tea imports down 18% in April-May

India's tea imports dipped by almost 18% in April-May this year to 2.31 million kg, Tea Board data shows.

The country had imported 2.81 million kg of tea in April-May, 2010, the data said.

India, the world's largest consumer of tea, imports the beverage only to re-export it to other countries. The dip in imports thus signals less re-exports.

While imports from Argentina, Kenya and Sri Lanka increased in April-May, in-bound shipments from Vietnam, Malawi, Indonesia, Nepal and China declined in the same period.

In the January-May period of the current calender year, imports of the brew fell by almost 17% to 6.54 million kg from 7.84 million kg in the same period of the previous year.

India, the second biggest producer of tea in the world, accounts for about 28% of global tea production and 14% of trade. There are about 1,600 tea estates in India. The industry employs more than two million people.

Tea production in January-May, 2011, stood at 243.61 million kg, while output in the year-ago period was 234.93 million kg.