South Indian tea crop may run short

The South Indian tea crop, hit by drought first and excess rainfall later, is projected to be lower than mid-year estimates by about 8 to 10 million kg.

While Tea Board figures released in June projected the crop for the calendar year at around 190 million kg, revised estimates put it in the 180-185 million kg band.

Growers concurring with the estimates blamed inadequate precipitation during the peak March-April season and the subsequent downpour for the fall.

Tea Board estimates reveal that the Vandiperiyar, Wynaad belt in Kerala will see a substantial fall of around 5 million kg over the mid-year estimates, with Tamil Nadu accounting for the rest.

As a result, on a year-on year basis, Kerala's crop will fall by 8 million kg, while Tamil Nadu's will be down by three to four million kg.

In 2003, South India managed to match the previous year output at 193 million kg.

Tea Board officials said, in the first eight months of the year, the South Indian tea crop was down over the previous years by 9.1 million kg.

In this, Kerala's crop was found lower by 14.2 per cent or 5.3 million kg, and Tamil Nadu's by 4.3 per cent or 3.8 million kg.

With this trend expected to continue, they said, conservative projections point to a likely output very much under the mid-year projections of 190 million kg.

Another reason attributed for the fall besides the weather is the inadequate use of fertilisers and manure.

With tea prices still not meeting costs, growers are said to be compromising on inputs.