Tea exports to Pakistan up 60% to Rs 161 cr

India's tea exports to Pakistan rose by 60 per cent to Rs 160.82 crore in the first 10 months of the current fiscal.
The overall outward shipments of tea, on the other hand, surged by just 11 per cent to Rs 3,597.41 crore.
Tea exports to the neighboring nation stood at Rs 100.61 crore in the year-ago period.
India is the world's second biggest tea producer and also one of the largest consumers. The country exports CTC (crush- tear-curl) grade tea to countries like Egypt, the UK, and other traditional varieties to Iraq, Iran and Russia.
The overall tea shipments was at Rs 3,240.90 crore in the April-January period of the 2014-15 fiscal, according to the Tea Board data.

The per unit price at which tea was exported to Pakistan increased to Rs 97.58 per kg from Rs 84.05 per kg a year ago.

In volume terms, outward shipments from India to Pakistan increased to 16.48 million kg in the 10-month period of 2015-16, from 11.97 million kg in April-January period of 2014-15.
The total tea exported from India in the period under review rose to 186.63 million kg as against 164.88 million kg a year earlier.
The increase in tea exports was seen in major tea-importing countries such as the CIS countries, the UK, Germany, Poland, the UAE, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Tea production has been low this fiscal mainly due to unfavorable weather conditions. Besides, wage-related issues also hit tea producers.
The tea sector has also been facing other issues including migration of laborers to other industries.
Tea plucking in India mainly starts between July and October.