India’s tea production saw a sharp decline of 17 per cent during September 2023 to 162.90 million kgs over the same period last year’s 195.69 million kgs due to reduced output in the Northern States.
As per Tea Board’s estimated data released for September, production in North India fell 19 per cent, while in the South the output saw an increase of 2.42 per cent, over the same period last year.
North Indian production declined to 138.86 million kgs during September over the same period last year’s 172.22 million kgs, while in South India, the output increased to 24.04 million kgs (23.47 million kgs in the same period last year)
In Assam, the largest tea-producing State, output declined by about 22 per cent to 88.44 million kgs (113.04 million kgs). The decline in the Assam Valley region was estimated at 22 per cent at 83.32 million kgs (107.24 million kgs), while in Cachar, the output fell around 12 per cent to 5.12 million kgs (5.80 million kgs)
In West Bengal, the total production declined 15 per cent to 46.29 million kgs (54.77 million kgs). The production in the Dooars region was down 18.31 per cent at 25.73 million kgs (31.50 million kgs), while in the Terai region, it declined 11 per cent to 19.68 million kgs (22.16 million kgs). In the Darjeeling region, tea output declined in September by 21 per cent to 0.88 million kgs (1.11 million kgs).
However, in Tamil Nadu, the largest producing state in South India, tea output in September was up 5.5 per cent at 17.02 million kgs (16.13 million kgs). However, in Kerala, the production declined by seven per cent to 6.42 million kgs (6.90 million kgs). In Karnataka, the production was up 36 per cent at 0.60 million kgs (0.44 million kgs).
In terms of variety, the production of CTC tea stood at 146.53 million kgs, while the output of orthodox tea was 13.89 million kgs during September. The production of green tea stood at 2.48 million kgs during the period.