New Delhi: Tea import by India, the world's
largest producer after China, has shot up by 28 per cent in
July despite high prices, as growing domestic consumption and
fears of fall in output triggered the overseas purchase.
The country has imported 2.85 million kg of tea in July,
compared with 2.05 million kg a year earlier and the purchase
from abroad touched 13.17 million kg between January and July
this year from 10.27 million kg in the same period of 2008, a
senior Tea Board official said.
An executive with a Kolkata-based tea company said robust
domestic consumption and high profit level in the export
value-added products have prompted traders to import more
despite prices ruling higher than the last year level.
Fears of decline in domestic output following drought
in the largest producing state of Assam, too, has triggered
rise in import after pushing up domestic prices, he added.
The country has produced 460.88 million kg till July,
about 16 million kg less than a year earlier.
The import price of tea went up to Rs 83.93 kg till
July 2009 from Rs 73.71 in the same period last year.
However, the average export price of tea rose to Rs
133.80 a kg between January and July from Rs 106.27 in the
year before, while the outbound shipment of value-added tea
products are fetching even more returns, underlining the
trigger behind the rise in tea import by traders.
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, September 11, 2009, 18:16