Tea production up 9% in April-December period

NEW DELHI: India's tea production in the April-December period of the current fiscal rose by 9 per cent to 1,116.98 million kg on account of higher output in Assam and West Bengal.

Production in the same period of the 2012-13 financial year was 1,025.01 million kg. according to the Tea Board data. The country's total tea output was up by 3.62 per cent at 1,135 million kg in 2012-13.

Output in Assam, the largest tea-producing state, was up 5 per cent to 607.83 million kg in the April-December period of 2013-14, from 577.13 million kg in the year-ago period. Similarly, in another major tea producing state, West Bengal, production rose by 11 per cent to 290 million kg from 262.06 million kg.

The combined production of tea in the south Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka increased 16 per cent to 195.97 million kg from 168.42 million kg. Assam, West Bengal and South India are the major regions that account for about 90 per cent of total tea output in the country.

Meanwhile, as per the Indian Tea Association estimates, India's tea production increased by 6.5 per cent to 1,200 million kg last year, against 1,126.33 million kg in 2012. India is the world's second-largest producer and biggest consumer of tea.