Tea export in south India hit due to heavy rains

Incessant monsoon rains in south India during August have ravaged the tea crop, the first output of which was meant for exports, in several key growing regions. According to United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI), volumes on offer at the Cochin tea auction centre had come down from an average of about 10 lakh kg in August last year to around 7.6 lakh kg in the same period this year. The Coimbatore auction centre has seen volumes drop to 3.2 lakh kg this week from an average of 5 lakh kg during the same period last year.

Though tea production in the south is lower than the north, the proportion of exports to the total output is significantly higher. Tea exports from the south were pegged at around 80 million kg in 2012 while production was about 240 million kg. North India exported only 121.2 million kg of tea from a production of 886.9 million kg during the period.

India exported around 215 million kg of tea estimated at around Rs 3,304 crore in 2011-12. Exports surged 17% year-on-year in value terms to Rs 3,062.69 crore in April-December 2012, provisional data with the Tea Board showed.