Tea Industry In India
Introduction
India is one of the world's leading producers of tea - 23 per cent share by volume in 2013. The tea produced in India is among the finest in the world owing to strong geographical indications, heavy investments in tea processing units, continuous innovation, augmented product mix and strategic market expansion. The main growing regions lie in Northeast India, including Assam, the Darjeeling district and the Dooars region of North Bengal, and in the Nilgiris in South India.
Highlights
1,India has a significant share in the international tea market with a 12 per cent share of world tea exports in 2013-14
2,India is also one of the world's largest consumers of tea
3,The tea industry is also India's second-largest employer with over 3.5 million workers employed in over 1,500 tea-growing estates
Key Markets and Export Destinations
Russia, the US, the UK, the UAE, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Germany, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Ireland, Poland and Sri Lanka are some of the major global markets for exports of Indian tea. The CIS countries accounted for 19.8 per cent of total exports in 2013-14 with US$ 152.46 million.
Between 2007-08 and 2011-12, exports grew from US$ 470 million to US$ 670 million, growing at a rate of 9.2 per cent. In 2013-14, it stood at US$ 746.46 million and in volume terms, India registered exports of 225.7 million kg.
1,India's tea exports are largely in the form of bulk tea, which accounted for approximately 78 per cent of total exports during 2013-14
2,In 2013-14, the Russian federation was the topmost importer of Indian tea at 38.6 million kg, followed by UAE and Iran at 23.33 and 22.9 million kg respectively
Tea Board of India
The Board was set up under the provision of Tea Act 1953 and it started functioning in April 1954. Its headquarters are in Kolkata with seventeen offices across India.
Apart from various developmental and regulatory functions, the Tea Board of India undertakes direct promotional activities, which include organising joint participation in international fairs and exhibitions, arranging buyer-seller meets and sending and hosting trade delegations. The Board also undertakes various market development activities such as market surveys, market analysis, tracking of consumer behaviour and dissemination of all relevant information to exporters/importers.
