Tea production down 7.21%, exports up marginally in April (Roundup)

India's estimated tea production fell by 7.21 per cent to 85.74 million kg in April 2018 from 92.41 million kg produced in the year-ago month, according to data from the Tea Board of India.

According to provisional data from the Board, in April, tea exports were up marginally to 14.5 million kg as against 14.33 million kg exported in the year-ago month and in value terms, the month was stagnant at Rs 277.6 crore as compared to Rs 277.71 crore in April 2017.

Estimated production data suggested the fall in absolute term during April was due to drop in the crop production both in north (which also covers the east and northeast India) and south India.

In north India, Assam's production for the month was marginally up to 45.65 million kg as compared to 44.24 million kg produced in the corresponding month of 2017 while West Bengal's production for the month stood at 15.73 million kg, down by nearly 20 per cent from 19.6 million kg produced in the same month of 2017.

Taking Assam, West Bengal and others together, the estimated crop during the month under review in north India decreased by nearly four per cent to 63.28 million kg as against 65.86 million kg produced in April 2017.

In south India, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the tea production was at 22.46 million kg in April 2018 as against 26.55 million kg produced in same month last year.

Small growers produced 38.04 million kg in April as against 43 million kg produced by them in the year-ago month.

Moreover, India's tea exports grew by about 6.5 per cent to 79.72 million kg during the January-April period of 2018 as compared to 74.89 million kg exported in the corresponding period last year.

In value terms, tea exports for the first four months of the current calendar year, stood at Rs 1,524.92 crore, up by about 5.3 per cent from Rs 1,447.74 crore in the year-ago period.

In volume, tea exports to CIS countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and others, were at 20.46 million kg in the January-April period of 2018, down from 22.28 million kg in the same period of last year.

Exports to Britain also fell to 3.03 million kg in the period under review, as against 3.73 million kg in the year-ago period while exports at 2.95 million kg to Germany during the period were also down from 3.3 million kg exported in the corresponding months of 2017.

However, tea exports to Iran went up to 8.94 million kg in the period under review, from 7.18 million kg in the year-ago period.

As much as 4.89 million kg of tea was shipped out to Egypt during the first four months of current year, up from 2.94 million kg in the year-ago period.

Tea exports to Pakistan stood at 5.03 million kg in the period, as against 3.31 million kg exported in the corresponding months of 2017.

India's tea exports to China during the period were up at 3.04 million kg.

--IANS

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