ENA Sectors 2025-08-01 17:14:47 <p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>New Delhi, Aug 1 (KNN) </strong>The Indian tea industry is facing a challenging year in 2025, dealing with a mix of production issues, price drops, and rising imports that are hurting domestic producers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">According to the Indian Tea Association (ITA), tea production has improved compared to 2024s poor output but remains lower than 2023 levels.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">All-India tea production fell by nearly 8 per cent in 2024 due to erratic weather and pest attacks. While 2025 has seen a 25.76 per cent recovery between January and May, its only relative to last years weak performance, said Arijit Raha, Secretary General of ITA.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">West Bengal and Assam, the countrys leading tea producers, saw year-on-year gains of 44 per cent and 14 per cent respectively. But when compared to 2023, production is still down by 12.89 per cent in West Bengal and 8.65 per cent in Assam.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Darjeeling tea continues to struggle, with 2025 output falling over 10 per cent below 2024 and 18 per cent lower than 2023.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">June and July brought further setbacks due to severe weather. A 2&deg;C temperature rise and reduced rainfall caused 20 25 per cent crop losses, with July expected to witness an additional 15 20 per cent decline.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Despite reduced supply, prices havent improved. Auction prices for CTC leaf and dust fell by 7 per cent in Assam and 9.5 per cent in the Dooars/Terai region between April and July.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">This price drop is further intensified by a spike in imports&mdash;up by 82 per cent in 2024&mdash;with Kenya and Nepal accounting for the majority. The influx of cheaper teas continues in 2025, pushing down domestic price realisations.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Exports also dipped slightly, with India shipping 85.77 million kg from January to April, down 0.22 per cent from last year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The industry is at a tipping point, said Raha. Without urgent intervention, Indian tea faces an uncertain future.</span></p> <p><em><strong><span style="font-size:14px">(KNN Bureau)</span></strong></em></p> 43030 https://knnindia.co.in/news/newsdetails/sectors/indian-tea-industry-faces-crisis-amid-falling-production-and-rising-imports 2025-08-01 17:14:47 knnindia.co.in