Erratic weather is affecting tea production and although overall crop is higher in the first three months of 2011, major producing regions have begun to face problems from April, industry sources said. Exports too dropped sharply during this period with earnings too registering a drop on the back of lower volumes.
Official figures show that between January and March, production was marginally higher with the Dooars and Terai region in West Bengal, the Cachar Valley in Assam and Tamil Nadu had all reported crop losses in a period that is considered lean.
Higher production in the Assam Valley had more than compensated for the loss in these regions but available reports suggest that while rains were good in the first-half of April, it turned scanty in the second-half impacting production. Total crop in the first quarter of the year was 94.39 million kg, a rise of 0.4 per cent.
Most other major tea producing countries like Kenya, Malawi and Indonesia also took hits on their production with India's arch rival in the international market Sri Lanka reporting a small 2.l per cent increase.
During the period under review, India's exports at 39.6 million kg suffered a marked drop, of 26.6 per cent, with China being the only country other than Indonesia to increase its exports at a time when overall exports declined by 13.7 per cent.
