The Tea Trade Association of Cochin has called upon its members to work cohesively for the survival of the industry and urged to find ways to improve the brew’s prices.
The tea industry in general is facing lot of challenges such as unfavourable weather conditions due to climate change, low export demand and high freight cost due to geopolitical situations and various other factors, said Anil Mathew, the outgoing chairman of the association.
“We need to find ways to improve prices. One way to do so is to increase the domestic consumption of tea. For this every member of this association should be a brand ambassador highlighting the health benefits of tea, especially among the younger generation. The younger generation needs to be convinced about the benefits of drinking tea”, he told members at the 32nd annual general meeting.
He pointed out that the average price realized at the Cochin Auction Centre during 2023 was ₹137.91 against ₹141.35 in 2022, for Coonoor it was ₹99.34 in 2023 against ₹95.86 in 2022, for Coimbatore it was ₹110.66 in 2023 against ₹107.05 in 2022.
The auction prices in Kochi dropped in 2023 compared to 2022, whereas Coonoor and Coimbatore had an increase. In exports, South India showed an increase in 2023, he said.
Referring to production figures, he said the South Indian tea production in 2023 was 235.99 million kg compared to 231.82 million kg in 2022; an increase of 4.17 million kg. Kerala produced 63.45 million kg in 2023 against 67.70 million kg in 2022, a decrease of 4.25 million kg.
Karnataka produced 5.52 million kg in 2023 as against 5.1 million kg in 2022, an increase of 0.42 million kg. Tamil Nadu produced 167.02 million kg in 2023 as against 159.02 million kg in 2022, an increase of 8.0 million kg.
The total exports from South India stood at 90.36 million kg in 2023 as against 83.75 million kg in 2022 an increase of 6.61 million kg.
The price of exported tea from South India was ₹226.7 per kg in 2023 as against ₹221.2 per kg in 2022. This shows the need to strive for increased exports to improve price realisation, he said.