Tea imports down 14% at 9.91 mn kg in April-October

Tea imports declined by 14% to 9.91 million kg in the April-October period of the current fiscal, according to the Tea Board data.

The country had imported 11.55 million kg of tea in the year-ago period.

India -- the world's largest consumer of tea -- imports tea leaves solely for re-export to other countries. The dip in imports thus signals lower re-exports.

The inbound shipments of tea from most countries, except Argentina, Iran and the UK, registered a decline in the first seven months of the 2011-12 financial year.

India imports tea largely from Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Argentina, Iran, Sri Lanka, China and Indonesia, among other countries.

In the first ten months of the current calender year, imports of the brew fell by 15% to 14.15 million kg from 16.57 million kg in January-October 2010.

India is the second-biggest producer of tea in the world, accounting for about 28% of global output and 14% of trade.

There are about 1,600 tea estates in India and the industry employs more than two million people.