Kolkata, July 05: India's January-May tea exports fell 32 per cent to 45 million kg, a state-run Tea Board official has said. India, the world largest producer of tea, exported 66.1 million kg in January-May 2002.

"The value of exports has fallen also to Rs 4.176 billion ($90.1 million) in January-May this year against 5.543 billion in the first five months of last year," said the Tea Board official, who did not want to be identified.
Indian exporters are searching for new markets to sell their crop at a time when output continues to grow. In January-May 2003, tea production rose 19 per cent to 223.42 million kg.
Taking advantage of a thaw in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad, an Indian tea delegation visited Pakistan - the world's third largest tea importer - this week to grab a bigger slice of the market of 120-130 million kg a year.
The Indian Tea Association (ITA), the country's largest producer body, signed an agreement with the Pakistan Tea Association in Karachi this week to triple Indian exports to 10 million kg by the year-end. Bureau Report