Tea production drops 16.26% to 17.87 million kg in January

The production of tea in the country stood at 17.87 million kg in January, as plucking dropped in southern states, as per data compiled by Tea Board. This is a fall of 16.26% as compared to a production of 21.34 million kg from a year earlier period. India is the world’s second biggest tea producer and exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) grade mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK, and the orthodox variety to Iraq, Iran and Russia.

The production of tea in North India dropped by 20.81% and stood at 3.31 million kg compared to 4.18 million kg production in January last year. The production in West Bengal dropped 18.88% and stood at 2.32 million kg compared to 2.86 million kg last year in January, while output in Assam dropped by 26.27% to 0.87 million kg this January.

Tea production in South India declined by 15.16% and stood at 14.56 million kg compared to 17.16 million kg in January last year. The production in states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka stood at 9.34 million kg, 4.78 million kg and 0.44 million kg respectively.