Tea Prices

Tata Consumer Products reported strong revenue growth led by its India business. Analysts expect margins to improve in H2FY26 as tea prices moderate and premium segments expand.

With prices down and costs up, ITA's Hemant Bangur warns of viability risks for tea estates and urges a minimum sustainable price to stabilise the sector

Tata Consumer Products has reduced tea prices across brands as bulk rates ease, with margins set to recover by Q3 and plans to expand rural reach and premium portfolio

Imports of low-quality duty-free tea remain a major concern for planters, who allege that such shipments, instead of being used for re-exports, are "finding their way into the domestic market", undermining the prices of the crop and adding to growers' woes. They also called for the imposition of a 100 per cent import duty or a "minimum import price" to prevent such shipments from entering the country. Tea Association of India (TAI) president Sandeep Singhania said imports of "inferior quality" tea with prices ranging from USD 1.5 to USD 1.7 (Rs 130-140) per kg are one of the contributors to the plummeting price trend and muted market sentiment. "Duty-free imports of tea under the Advance Authorisation Scheme are supposed to be used for exports, but these are finding their way to the domestic market. This year, production so far is up by over 70 million kg. The domestic output, along with these imports, has aggravated the situation. Average tea prices are down by at least Rs 42 per

Tea exports from India increased by 2.85 per cent in the 2024-25 financial year as compared to the previous fiscal, according to official data. The tea exports from the country increased from 250.73 million kilograms to 257.88 million kilograms. According to the latest Tea Board data, the export volume from North India during the 2024-25 fiscal touched 161.20 million kilograms, registering a rise of 8.15 per cent from 149.05 million kilograms in the 2023-24 financial year. Similarly, exports from South India declined by 4.92 per cent to 96.68 million kilograms in 2024-25 from 101.68 million kilograms in the preceding fiscal, according to the data. The value of tea exports in price per kilogram increased to Rs 290.97, reflecting a rise of 12.65 per cent over Rs 258.30 in the 2023-24 fiscal. During the calendar year January to December 2024, the quantum of tea exports touched 256.17 million kilograms, an increase of 10.57 per cent from the preceding period of January to December ...

Analysts observed that Tata Consumer Products faced margin pressures primarily due to inflationary tea prices but continued to post robust volume growth across its beverage and food segments

Some in the industry warn companies will end financial year with marginal profit

The heavy cropping months for tea are June to September. However, the industry has not been able to offset initial losses

Both West Bengal and Assam hiked wage rates from June and October 2023, respectively

The year witnessed the tea industry facing an uncertain future, plagued by rising input costs and lower price realisation at auctions, making operations unviable. The apex body of the planters, the Indian Tea Association (ITA), has estimated that while tea prices increased at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4 per cent over the past decade, input costs of coal and gas have simultaneously risen at a rate of 9-15 per cent. Secretary general of ITA Arijit Raha said price realisation trends declined alarmingly in 2023 compared to 2022. "While inputs costs have risen, tea prices have not increased in a proportionate manner. This shows that the industry is passing through a crisis," Raha said. ITA said the emergence of small tea growers (STGs) resulted in an exponential rise in production. With internal consumption almost stagnant and the exports scenario depressed, surplus tea has remained in the system. According to Tea Board data, exports of the beverage during January to ..

Promoters of country's largest bulk tea producer had made OTS offer of Rs 1,030 cr to lenders last year against entire outstanding loan and interest. However, tea market has deteriorated since then

Higher output adds to industry's woes; Major buyer Iran is not operating at the level it normally does

Mixed trend in demand for different categories of tea was observed during Sale-22, a Calcutta Tea Traders' Association (CTTA) official said here on Friday. The demand for CTC leaf and Darjeeling tea increased while Orthodox leaf and Dust tea marked a weaker trend, he said. The total demand reduced by 3.05 per cent along with reduced offered quantity during the auction as compared to last week, the official said. The auction (Sale-22) was held on May 30 and 31. According to CTTA data, the total offerings amounted to 98,644 packages (28,32,493 kg) comprising 36,056 packages of CTC leaf, 45,103 packages of orthodox, 4,441 packages of Darjeeling leaf and 13,044 packages of dust tea. CTC leaf met good demand and a total of 8,03,325 kg of different categories was sold at an average price of Rs 198.97 per kg. Around 37.92 per cent of the total demand was witnessed for CTC leaf at below Rs 150 per kg level while 26.18 per cent was marked above Rs 250 per kg. Western India operated on be

Looks to get aggressive in segment dominated by Hindustan Unilever and Tata Tea

Russia accounts for 18 per cent of the industry's exports and the consequences of the conflict are making themselves felt already

Trade body's members account for 400 million kg of tea production, 50 million kg by way of direct exports. The industry's total output was 1,258 million kg in 2020

Revenues from operations stood at Rs 493.86 crore in the quarter compared to Rs 498.97 crore in the same period last year

Industry says crop loss is irreversible as first flush is gone, second is partially impacted

Price hikes, distribution rejig and higher in home consumption to offset some of the pressures

Most companies returned to profits in the June quarter, and indications are that the current quarter, which is typically a good time for tea industry, will be even better