Tea export up 19% in Jan-May

The country's tea export went up by 19.46 per cent in the first five months this year at 71.2 million kg on increased demand from the Middle East and price hike by competitor Sri Lanka.

According to Indian Tea Association (ITA) data, the country had exported 59.6 million kg tea during the January-May period last year.

Export from North India dipped to 31.1 million kg in the first five months of this year from 31.8 million kg in the same period last year.

South India, however, faired better with its tally at 40.1 million kg in January-May 2010 compared to 27.8 million kg in the same period last year.

An industry source said the rise in export is due to increased demand from the Middle East. An increase in the price of Sri Lankan orthodox variety also helped India to remain competitive in the export market.
    
The source, however, added that export growth rate may slow down from now onwards since excessive rains have adversly affected Assam's production. It is an excellent variety and has a good demand overseas.
    
India had exported 190 million kg of tea in 2008-09. The country exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) variety mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK and the premium orthodox variety of tea to Iraq, Iran and Russia.
    
India faces stiff competition from Kenya and other African countries for exporting CTC tea, while for orthodox variety competition comes from Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
    
The average price of the Indian tea overseas came down to Rs 122.15 per kg in the January-May period of the current year from Rs 129.36 per kg in the same period last year.
    
The average price further fell to Rs 116.99 per kg in the April-May period of the current year mainly due to a decline in the international tea price.