Tea exports to Pakistan up 47% at Rs 185 cr in FY16

Country's tea export to Pakistan jumped 47.50 per cent to Rs 184.56 crore in 2015-16.
The overall shipments of tea rose 10 per cent to Rs 4,200.46 crore in the same fiscal.
In 2014-15, tea exports to Pakistan had stood at Rs 125.12 crore and the overall exports were at Rs 3,823.64 crore.
In volume terms, outward shipments from India to Pakistan increased to 18.94 million kg in 2015-16 as against 15.20 million kg in the preceding fiscal, according to Tea Board's data.
India is the world's second biggest tea producer and also one of the largest consumers.
The country exports CTC (crush- tear-curl) grade tea to countries like Egypt, the UK, and other traditional varieties to Iraq, Iran and Russia.

The export price to Pakistan increased to Rs 97.44 per kg in the period under review compared with Rs 82.32 a year ago.

The rise in tea exports was seen in major tea-importing countries like the CIS countries, the UK, Germany, Poland, the UAE, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Tea production has been low this fiscal mainly due to unfavourable weather conditions. Besides, wage-related issues also hit tea producers.
The sector is also facing other issues including migration of labourers to other industries. Tea plucking in India mainly starts between July and October.