INDIAN TEA INDUSTRY AT A GLANCE IN 2018 - 2019 General Overview
Indian tea 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 tea-growing regions are in Northeast India (including Assam) and in north Bengal (Darjeeling district and the Dooars region). Tea is also grown on a large scale in the Nilgiris in south India. India is one of the world’s largest consumers of tea, with about three-fourths of the country’s total produce consumed locally.
The country is home to a wide variety of teas, including CTC tea, orthodox tea, green tea and organic tea.
India offers high-quality specialty teas, such as Darjeeling, Assam Orthodox and the high- range Nilgiri, which have a distinctive aroma, strength, colour and flavour.
Tea Exports
Total Tea exports stood at US$ 837.33 million in 2018, as compared to US$ 731.25 million during the previous year. Between Apr-Oct 2018, tea exports have reached US$ 463.95 million.
Between Apr-Oct 2018, the major importers of Indian tea were Russia (US$ 64.14 million), Iran (US$ 57.63 million), US (US$ 34.90 million), UK (US$ 34.31 million) and UAE (US$ 30.15 million).
India stands fourth in terms of tea exports after Kenya, China and Sri Lanka respectively.
