Tea exports to Pakistan up 59% at Rs 177 cr in Apr-Feb

India's tea exports to Pakistan jumped 59 per cent to Rs 176.95 crore in the April-February period of the 2015-16 financial year.
The overall outbound shipments of tea, on the other hand, rose by 11 per cent to Rs 3,884.74 crore in the same period.
Tea exports to the neighbouring nation stood at Rs 111.41 crore in the first eleven months of 2014-15 fiscal.
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 overall tea shipments was at Rs 3,508.38 crore in the April-February period of the 2014-15 fiscal, according to the Tea Board data.
The per unit price at which tea was exported to Pakistan increased to Rs 98.14 per kg in 2015-16 from Rs 83.14 per kg a year ago.

In volume terms, outward shipments from India to Pakistan increased to 18.03 million kg in the 11-month period of 2015-16, from 13.40 million kg in April-January period of 2014-15.
The total tea exported from India in the period under review rose to 202.81 million kg as against 180.84 million kg a year earlier.

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