Tea Export: Due to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the production of tea will decrease, India can compensate for it.
India can compensate for the reduction in tea production due to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka. This has been said by the Tea Association of India. TAI general secretary PK Bhattacharya said the increase in prices of traditional varieties produced by Indian tea garden owners proves this. There has been a rapid increase in the auction process of tea from around Rs 75 to Rs 100 per kg.
India produces around 110 to 120 million kilograms of traditional tea annually while Sri Lanka has 300 million kilograms. Bhattacharya has said that Sri Lanka’s traditional tea production has declined due to the economic crisis.
It has been said by TAI that by July 2022, the production of traditional tea in Sri Lanka fell by about 19 percent compared to the same period in 2021. Talking to the media, Bhattacharya has said that if the current situation continues, there may be a reduction of about 100 million kg in the production of traditional tea in Sri Lanka, which can be compensated by Indian producers.
Indian exporters have also been able to reach the markets of UAE and Iran which are mainly consuming countries of traditional tea. TAI has said that Indian tea exports grew by about nine per cent till July 2022 and the total export of tea during this entire year could be up to 200 million kg.
After the CIS countries, UAE is a major consumer of Indian tea. It has imported 15.86 million kg during January to June as against 6.76 million kg in the year-ago period. According to Tea Board data, Iran imported 11.43 million kg of tea during this period as compared to 10.04 million kg in the same period of 2021.