Kolkata: Tea exports from India during the January-September period of 2021 have declined by around 10 per cent to 137 million kilograms but the beverage fetched a higher price per kg in overseas markets.
India had shipped out 153 mkgs of the commodity in the year-ago period, according to Tea Board data.
The fall in export volume was mainly due to non-availability of cargo containers, industry sources said.
The total value of exports during the first nine months of 2021 stood at Rs 3,764.69 crore, up from Rs 3,637.13 crore in the same period last year.
The rise in value despite the decline in volume is due to higher unit price realisation, the sources said.
The CIS countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, imported 31.87 mkgs of Indian tea during the January-September period of the current calendar year, down from 38.37 mkgs in the corresponding months of 2020.
Exports to Iran also fell from 26.39 mkgs to 18.26 million mkgs in the period under review.
Neighbouring China lifted 4.47 mkgs of Indian tea in the first nine months of 2021, down from 7.63 mkgs in the same period last year.
The UAE, the US and Germany imported 10.34 mkgs, 10.83 mkgs and 6.70 mkgs respectively, as these countries bought more tea from India during the January-September period this year as compared to 2020.