Tea imports in India declined by 7.6 per cent to 7.49 million kg during the first five months of 2010 mainly due to fall in shipments from Iraq, Indian Tea Association said today.
The country, which is the largest consumer of tea in the world, had imported 8.11 million kg of tea during the January-May period last year.
According to the Indian Tea Association, the average price of the beverage also came down to Rs 81.89 per kg during the period under review, from Rs 83.59 per kg in the corresponding period last year.
"Iraq is the main exporter of tea to India. A fall in the number of contracts with that country have impacted the shipments," Indian Tea Association joint secretary Sujit Patra said. Tea imports from Nepal, Kenya and Argentina also witnessed a significant fall during this period.
Shipments from Argentina saw a considerable decline of 85 per cent for the January-May 2010 period when they came down to 0.08 million kg from 0.54 million kg during the year ago period.
Similarly, imports from Kenya also came down by 33.03 per cent to 0.75 million kg during the first five months of 2010 from 1.12 million kg of the corresponding year. Arrivals from Nepal were 1.63 million kg this year, 30 per cent less than 2.36 million kg during the corresponding period last year.
However imports from Vietnam saw a positive increase during the said period, as they went up by 36.3 per cent to 1.80 million kg over 1.32 million kg of the same period. Tea production in India, the second biggest producer of tea in the world, was 979 million kg last year.
India accounts for about 28 per cent of world production and 14 per cent of trade. There are about 1,600 tea estates in India. The industry employs more than two million people.
