The tea industry had expected to export around 200 million kg a little bit lower compared to export of 231 million kg in 2022 ,considering poor demand in traditional markets and due to the impact of the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Palestine war.
India’s tea exports from January to October 2023 figured around 182.69 million kg, which is 3 percent lower compared to shipments during the same period in 2022,as per the data.Exporters said that the last two months of 2023 may have seen a shipment of 30-40 million kg.
Iran and Russia are key buyers of Indian tea. Iran has been buying Indian tea but its purchases have not reached the 2022 level. “The country is yet to allocate more foreign exchange for tea purchases. The Russian market has been stagnant with the war going on,” said Anshuman Kanoria, chairman of the Indian Tea Exporters Association(ITEA). Inflationary pressure in the buying countries has also hit exports.
Despite of Global Geopolitical tension , The export scene is not as bad as we expected it to be.Indian exporters have been able to sell more in countries such as Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Jordan.However These are high-risk countries because of payment problems , but the effort has to be made atleast to some extent made up the shortfall in exports to Iran,” said Anshuman Kanoria.Higher imports from other non regular countries may take Indian tea exports close to 220 million kg.
Not a good start for tea export……..
However, the export situation worsened in January with the crisis in the Red Sea, where attacks on ships by Yemen’s Houthis have led to cargo being re-routed leading to a hike in freight costs.While Indian freight rates have just increased in the last couple of weeks, it could be an advantage for Kenyan exports, which have not been affected by the problem,’’ Kanoria said.
A hope for ‘expediting’ the tea again…
The industry is hoping some relief after a few months due to the upcoming elections in May. “Usually election campaigns boost tea consumption and we hope to get some small relief during these months,’’ said Ajay Jalan, president of the Tea Association of India.
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