Tea industry in ‘acute financial crisis’, says Indian Tea Association in a report

Source: The post is based on the article “Tea industry in ‘acute financial crisis’, says Indian Tea Association in a report” published in “The Hindu” on 13th October 2023

What is the News?

The Indian Tea Association (ITA), a leading body of tea planters has released a status paper titled ‘Tea scenario 2023’.

What are the issues faced by the Tea Industry in India?

Tea prices: Over the past decade, tea prices have increased by about 4% annually.In contrast, the costs of important inputs like coal and gas prices increased by nearly 9-15% each year during the same period.

Surplus Tea Production: The Tea Industry has seen a significant increase in tea production due to the emergence of small tea growers.

– This has led to an oversupply of tea because domestic consumption and exports haven’t grown enough to absorb it.

Tea Exports declined: In 2022, tea exports showed an improvement.However, in the first seven months of 2023, there was a drop in tea exports.

– This was due to the decline in tea exports to Iran, which make up nearly 20% of India’s tea exports.