In the first six months of 2021, India imported a whopping 12.16 million kg of cheap teas from Kenya, Nepal and other destinations, registering a year-on-year surge of nearly 176 per cent, according to a report by The Economic Times.
India, which leads in tea production globally, had imported 4.41 million kg of tea between January and June in 2020.
This is more than 75 per cent of India’s full-year import of 15.86 million kg in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck the country and its key industries.
Tea imports in India are meant to be re-exported but a major portion of these is blended with Indian teas and are sold throughout the country at a lower price, industry insiders told ET.
“Import of Kenyan tea climbed to 5.02 million kg in the first six months of 2021 as compared to 1.49 million kg in the same period last year. As Kenyan prices are hovering around $1.7 per kg as compared to India’s $2.5 per kg, the trade may have bought more volumes of Kenyan tea this year for re-export purposes,” Sujit Patra, secretary of the Indian Tea Association (ITA), is quoted as saying in the report.
Industry experts said that the quality and reputation of Indian teas suffer when blended with cheap imported teas. The ITA has urged the Tea Board that rules of origin be strictly followed and multi-origin teas not be sold as Indian teas.
The ITA has also asked the government to set a minimum import price for teas entering India. This would ensure that teas are imported at a cost higher than the cost of production of Indian teas, the body said.
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