Tea

Exports gained when production in troubled island nation dropped sharply in 2022; to maintain that momentum as its competitor bounces back, domestic industry's challenge will be to focus on quality

Leading planters body Indian Tea Association (ITA) said climate change is threatening the industry globally which is resulting in lower yields and rise in production costs. A spokesman of ITA said climate change is also threatening the long-term viability of tea industry, which is also causing increasing pest infestations making pesticide residue management surfacing as a major challenge. To mitigate this, ITA said that the industry needs to adopt a multi-faceted to address the climate change issue by way of sustainable farming practices and reduction in carbon footprint. In this context, the association maintained the industry involving all the stakeholders to invest in research to come out with mitigating solutions. There has also been a decline in rainfall and increase in temperature in the tea cultivating regions for the last several years, ITA said. According to the association, future projections indicate a substantial reduction in suitability in tea cultivation in areas whe

Sri Lanka crisis, sanctions on Russia that made sourcing from other countries difficult help domestic industry post better numbers

Tea drinkers forced to downgrade to lower qualities of beverage; consumption also impacted by rising milk prices

Figure is even marginally lower than in 2020, when a nationwide lockdown was imposed to contain Covid-19; Tea Board chief says output has gone down because due to old bushes

International margins fall sharply on cost inflation, price lag in December quarter

In a Q&A, Sunil D'Souza talks about the company's strategy to launch more D2C brands and his outlook on demand for the company

The downward trend in total demand and total offerings was in evidence once again for all categories of tea during Sale-05, a Calcutta Tea Traders Association (CTTA) official said. The auction was held on February 1 and 2 and the market witnessed a lack of demand, he said on Saturday. The total demand declined further by 28.56 per cent during this auction, he added. According to CTTA official data, the total offerings amounted to 1,14,970 packages (33,17,286 kg) comprising 53,418 packages of CTC leaf, 38,952 packages of orthodox, 1,293 packages of Darjeeling leaf and 21,307 packages of dust tea. CTC leaf met with fair demand at lower price level and a total of 12,13,470 kg of different categories was sold at an average price of Rs 152.88 per kg. Around 61.41 per cent of the total demand was witnessed for CTC leaf at below Rs 150 per kg price level and only 3.68 per cent was marked at above Rs 250 per kg level, it revealed. Western India operated on liquoring teas and other intern

Tea exports from India have increased 18.1 per cent at 185.31 million kilograms between January and October 2022, from 160 million kilograms in the similar previous first ten months. According to Tea Board data, the CIS block countries remained the largest importer at 43.65 million kilograms during the first ten months of 2022, up from 36.95 million kilograms in the same period the previous year. The UAE surfaced as the second largest importer at 32.95 million kilograms during the period in 2022, substantially higher from 12.45 million kilograms in the previous similar period. Iran, which had been a big importer of the Indian orthodox variety, imported 19.52 million kilograms in the period January to October 2022, lower from 21.45 million kilograms in those 10 months in 2021. Secretary general of Tea Association of India (TAI) P K Bhattacharya said that though shipments to Iran had fallen, the silver lining is that UAE has surfaced as a major importer after the CIS block. Tea indu

The commerce ministry is likely to engage with Niti Aayog to rework the five draft bills pertaining to cash crops tea, coffee, spices, rubber, and tobacco, an official said. Earlier this year, the ministry proposed the repeal and updation of decades-old laws on these sectors and to introduce new legislation with a view to promoting their growth and creating a conducive environment for businesses. "Niti Aayog has raised certain objections with the ministry on these five bills. The issues were recently discussed in a meeting between senior officials. Niti Aayog suggested a relook and the ministry has sought its help on that," the official said. Niti Aayog has given its views on the drafts of Spices (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022; Rubber (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022; Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022; Tea (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022 and Tobacco Board (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The ministry had earlier also conducted stakeholder consultations on th

There is no clarification from Iran for the stoppage but exporters believe that it is due to widespread anti-hijab protests in the country

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) emerged as the second largest importer of tea from India after the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as a block, according to the latest data released by Tea Board. During the period from January to September 2022, UAE imported 28.58 million kilograms of tea from India, a rise of 159 per cent from the similar nine-month period of 2021. CIS countries imported 38.06 million kilograms during that period in 2022, up from 33.34 million kilograms in the corresponding period of 2021. Tea industry sources said that the exporters are looking for other avenues as shipments to Iraq, an erstwhile major importer, reduced to zero due to payment issues. "It is good to see that UAE is now importing Indian tea in a big way. This augurs well for the exporters as it is a major consumer of the premium orthodox variety," an exporter said. Besides Iraq, shipments to another major buyer Iran are also suffering due to economic sanctions imposed by the US and also bec

India and the United States have a long association with tea and the two democracies cherish their common love for the aromatic beverage, India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu has said. Speaking at an event dedicated to tea lovers organised at the Indian Embassy here on Tuesday, Sandhu spoke about the significance of tea for Indians and also about its linkage to the American Revolution. "India and the US have a long association with tea. After all, the Boston Tea Party, which sparked the American Revolution, was organised to protest colonial taxes on tea! Tea is also intricately linked to East India company, and our own freedom struggle, Sandhu said. To usher in the winter season, the Indian Embassy in association with Janam Tea, during the event presented an informative conversation about the exciting flavours and styles of Indian tea. The conversation was led by Amy Dubin-Nath of Janam Tea, which specialises in single-estate teas from India. "Today, we cherish our .

Signs deal with Dhunseri group for the last four estates it currently owns

Exports of tea from India increased by 14.8 per cent to 140.28 million kilograms in the first eight months of the 2022 calendar year, according to Tea Board data. Tea shipments during the January-August period in 2021 stood at 122.18 million kilograms (mkgs). The CIS countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, remained the largest importer of Indian tea with 30.56 mkgs in the first eight months of 2022, marginally higher than 29.13 mkgs shipped out to these nations in the year-ago period, the data said. Sources in the industry said that tea exports did not pick up substantially due to shipping and container costs which skyrocketed due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. After the CIS countries, UAE was the second largest importer at 23.84 mkgs, a rise of 157 per cent from 9.27 mkgs in the similar period in 2021. Owing to economic sanctions imposed by the US on Iran, tea shipments to the west Asian country also failed to increase in the first eight months of 2022. Expo

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The Tea Board, in its notification, has kept the sanctity of GI intact and allowed blending only for teas not claiming the GI mark

Research on over 1 million people from eight countries discovered that moderate use of black, green, or Oolong tea is linked to a lower risk of getting type 2 diabetes.

Data available on the Tea Board website showed that India's production in 2020-2021 had stood at 1,283.03 million kg and volumes at the auctions were around 547 mkg

"Our quick estimate indicates that the crop in June 2022 is lower by at least 20-25 per cent over June last year," said Sujit Patra, secretary, exports & market promotion, ITA.