Tea Imports Down 21 pc at 8.07 mn kg in April-September.

New Delhi, Nov 23 (PTI) India''s tea imports declined by 21 per cent to 8.07 million kg in the April-September period of the current fiscal, according to the latest Tea Board data.
The country had imported 10.19 million kg of tea in the year-ago period.

India, the world''s largest consumer of tea, imports tea leaves solely for re-export to other countries. The dip in imports thus signals lower re-exports.

India''s inbound shipments of tea from most countries registered a decline in the first six months of the 2011-12 financial year.

India imports tea from Kenya, Malawai, Nepal, Iran, Sri Lanka, China and Indonesia, among other countries.

Indian tea imports dipped by 10 per cent to 1.67 million kg in September this year from 1.86 million kg in the same period last fiscal.

In the first nine months of the current calender year, imports of the brew fell by 19 per cent to 12.31 million kg from 15.21 million kg in January-September, 2010.

India is the second-biggest producer of tea in the world, accounting for about 28 per cent of global output and 14 per cent of trade. There are about 1,600 tea estates in India. The industry employs more than two million people.

Source : news.in.msn.com