Tea exports dip by 5.6 per cent in last fiscal

Kolkata: Tea exports have dipped marginally in the last fiscal to 240 million kg from 254.50 million kg the year before -- a fall of 5.6 per cent -- according to data. Exports to CIS countries -- the biggest importer of India tea -- also declined marginally to 59.40m kg in the last fiscal from 60.72 mkg in 2018-19, the Tea Board data said.

Sources in the Tea Board attributed the dip to economic slowdown across the globe. Iran continued to be second largest importer with the country buying 46.47 mkg in 2019-20 - up from 41.02 mkg in the previous fiscal. Offtake by China also increased to 12.71 mkg from 10.58 mkg.

Exports to neighbouring Pakistan, however, saw a significant drop - from 14.6 mkg in 2018-19 to 3.3 mkg the previous fiscal. Apart from that, the US, the UK and the UAE are the other three destinations where the exports had touched double digits in 2019-20, the data said. Meanwhile, production of tea in March, the last month of fiscal 2019-20, witnessed a steep fall to 43.45 mkg from 74.59 mkg in the corresponding period of 2018-19.