India’s Tea Shipments Slide in January-June
India’s tea exports saw a slight dip in volume in the first six months of calendar 2023 compared with the year-earlier period.
Overall tea exports between January and June this year slid 0.8% to 96.3 million kilogram, data shared by the United Planters’ Association of Southern India (UPASI) show.
The decline was mainly due to lower shipments to Russia, the world’s second-largest tea importer, which was hit by Western sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine.
Exports to Russia fell by 40% to 10.8 million kilogram in January-June 2023 from 18 million kilogram in the same period of the previous year.
Exports to other major destinations, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Bangladesh, also declined marginally. However, shipments to Iran and Vietnam increased by 10% and 12%, respectively.
The decline in tea exports is a setback for the Indian tea industry, which is the world’s largest producer and exporter of tea.
The industry is facing a number of challenges, including rising input costs, labor shortages, and competition from other tea-producing countries.
The Indian Tea Association (ITA) has called on the government to take steps to boost tea exports. The ITA has urged the government to provide financial assistance to the tea industry and to help it find new markets for its tea.
The government has said that it is committed to supporting the tea industry. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has said that it is working to diversify India’s tea exports and to find new markets for its tea.
The tea industry is hopeful that the government’s support will help it to overcome the challenges it is facing and to boost tea exports in the coming months.
