Guwahati: Tea exports have jumped by 28.12% from June last year to this year. This was informed by the minister of state in the ministry of commerce Anupriya Patel in the Parliament today in a written reply to a question.

The minister said there was a decline in the export of tea in last few years. Reportedly, this was due to non-availability of containers, dislocation in shipping schedules, lock-down and uncertainty in the market due to covid-19, and disruptions in overall global trade.

"However, the export of tea during JanuaryMay, 2022 was 83.49 M. Kgs. (Value Rs. 2116.75 Crores) as compared to 77.26 M. Kgs. (Value Rs. 2036.37 Crores) during the corresponding period of last year, which shows a growth of 8.06% in volume and 3.94% in value term.

"As per quick estimates value of tea exports in June 2022 is
Rs. 500.03 Crores against Rs. 390.28 Crores in June 2021 showing a growth of 28.12%" she said.

The minister in her reply said the Indian Tea Exporters’ Association has confirmed to the Tea Board that the return of any tea consignment has not been reported. There were reports in the media that samples of Indian tea were rejected by foreign countries on various grounds.

The minister said there has been a continuous endeavour of the Tea Board and tea industry to strategize ways and means to ensure quality of tea being exported from India. The following measures are being undertaken by the Tea Board on a sustained basis:

• Enforcement of “Plant Protection Code (PPC)” in the plantations for “Good Agricultural
  Practices (GAP)”.
• Mandatory testing of sampled teas (twice in a year) for checking conformance with the
• FSSAI parameters at the factory level
• Regular awareness camps/workshops for small tea growers at the grass root level for imparting training on GAP.
• Mandatory closure of all the factories in early December every year also helps in arresting infusion of sub-standard teas into the system.