Tea Exports To Decline By 4 pc to 185 Million kg in 2011: CCPA.

New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) India''s tea exports are expected to decline by 4 per cent to 185 million kg in the current calendar year, an apex body of tea producer associations has said.

The country produced 193.29 million kg of the brew in 2010, the Consultative Committee of Plantations Association (CCPA) said in a statement.

"Based on available trends, exports for the year 2011 are expected to be at around 185 million kg, against the level of 193 million kg in 2010. Orthodox would be the key catalyst for Indian tea exports during 2012," the CCPA said.

As per Tea Board export data for the January to July period, exports to all countries have been falling except for Pakistan, it added.

The planters'' body said that tea exports to Iran -- a major destination for orthodox tea -- have been facing payment problems.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had stopped the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) payment option in respect of current account trade in December last year, as a result of which Iranian traders were unable to make payment for tea consignments from India.

However, in an effort to resolve the long-standing payment crisis, the RBI has given permission to the Central Bank of Iran to open rupee accounts with two Indian banks, UCO and IDBI Bank.

The premier body of tea associations also pointed out that the country will again miss the 1 billion kg production target in 2011.

Initial trends in early 2011, especially in North India, suggested it would be a watershed year for tea production and output would cross 1 billion kg, it said.

"However, at a recent assessment by CCPA, it was projected that both North and South India would lose crop in October, November and December, 2011, against 2010 levels," it said.
It was extremely dry during the October to early December period in most North-East tea producing districts and crops have dropped substantially due to this, the planters body'' said.

With temperatures still falling, the season in North-East India is almost at an end. In South India, erratic rains and cold weather are retarding crops, it added.

"As a result, actual tea production during 2011 could be projected at around 980 to 985 million kg," the CCPA said.

India exported 149.97 million kg of tea in the first ten months of the current calendar year, compared to 163.12 million kg in January-October, 2010.

The country produced 847.15 million kg of tea in the January-October, 2011, period, as against 813.73 million kg in the year-ago period.

Source : news.in.msn.com