India causes a stir in Ceylon Tea
Sri Lanka’s tea industry is facing a new low: Its neighbour India has surpassed its export figures and taken second place in the global tea trade, after Kenya (in first place). Sri Lanka once the world’s biggest exporter is now in third place.
This, the industry believes, is a result of years of neglect and overlooking by successive governments that have had no interest in improving the crop but did everything to willfully downgrade its standards.
“This is the result of what we have been doing in the past 10-15 years,” and successive governments have not concentrated on the tea industry as they believed the industry will not grow any bigger than this, former Tea Exporters Association Chairman and Imperial Teas Chairman Jayantha Karunaratne told The Sunday Times Business.
With the low quantities Sri Lanka’s tea exports fetch high prices in the global market as a result of which consumers and buyers are compelled to look for other sources for buying tea, he explained adding that authorities should have invested more in this sector. Sri Lanka’s tea exports totaled 245 million kg in 2024, up from 241 million kg in 2023. Asia Siyaka MD/CEO Anil Cooke however pointed out that with India importing Kenyan teas it has contributed to the increase in Indian tea exports. By importing low priced Kenyan teas India has been able to export teas at values more competitive as the prices of their own teas surged due to low production volumes.
According to statistics obtained from Asia Siyaka quoting the International Tea Committee, the Indian tea production volumes were at 1.284 billion kg in 2024 compared to 1.393 billion kg in the previous year. India’s tea imports from Kenya were 17.1 million kg in 2024 compared to 5.2 million kg in 2023. Indian exports indicate that they shipped 254 million kg in 2024 compared with 231.6 million kg in 2023.
A World Tea News report highlights that the possible blending of Kenyan teas with Indian teas has become a cause for concern by the Indian tea industry.
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