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MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian tea production in 2020 fell 9.7% from a year ago due to heavy flooding and coronavirus movement restrictions, lifting average prices by nearly a third to a record high, the state-run Tea Board said on Thursday.
Women carry firewood at a tea estate in Nagaon district, in Assam, February 17, 2017. REUTERS/Anuwar Hazarika/Files
The price rise supported the beleaguered Indian tea industry, which was struggling with rising production costs, but trimmed exports from the south Asian country.
In 2020, India produced 1255.60 million kilograms of tea, down 9.7% from a year ago as floods damaged tea gardens in the northeastern state of Assam - which accounts for over half of India’s production - where output had already been cut by labour movement restrictions to contain the coronavirus outbreak.