According to Tea Board data, tea production in the country has declined by about 4% this year to 17.79 crore kg in August 2023. Whereas in August 2022, tea production was more than 18.54 crore kilograms.
According to Tea Board data, North India, mainly Assam and P. Tea production in Bengal decreased to 15.80 crore kg, which was slightly more than 17.09 crore kg in August, 2022. Tea production in Assam decreased from 10.98 crore kg to 9.97 crore kg. Similarly P. Production in Bengal came down from 5.61 crore kg to 5.36 crore kg.The main reasons for decline in tea production are adverse weather conditions and pest attack.
Tea farming
- Tea cultivation is an example of plantation agriculture also known as commercial agriculture. It is an important beverage crop which was initially brought to India by the British.
- Tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, banana etc. are important plantation crops in India.
- Tea in Assam and North Bengal, coffee in Karnataka are the main plantation crops there. The tea plant is grown well in tropical and sub-tropical climate, deep soil rich in humus and organic matter and in sloping or hilly areas with easy drainage.
- To grow tea bushes, a warm, moist and frost-free climate is required throughout the year.
- Uniform rainfall throughout the year helps in the growth of its soft leaves.
- Tea is a labor intensive industry. This requires cheap and skilled labor in abundance. Tea leaves are processed on the plantation itself to maintain its freshness.
- The main producing areas of tea are Assam, the hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Apart from these, tea is also grown in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura.
- In 2018, India was the second largest tea producing country in the world after China.
- Black tea is famous in India and Sri Lanka, green tea in China and Japan and Oolong tea in Taiwan. Indian tea is of the highest quality in the world.
- Although China ranks first in terms of area of tea, India ranks first in the world in terms of production.
- Sri Lanka is the largest (27%) tea exporter in the world, followed by Kenya. The United States is its largest importer.
Coffee / Kahwa cultivation
- Like tea, it is also a product of plantation agriculture and an important beverage. There are three main varieties of Kahwa – Coffea liberia, Coffea Arabica and Coffea rowsta. Sao Paulo in Brazil is called the ‘Cahwa Bowl of the World’. Ideal geographical conditions for coffee production are found in Colombia and Java Island in Indonesia. Jamaica’s ‘Blue Mountains’ have the highest grade in the world.
- ‘Alta-Vera-Paz’ is from northern Guatemala and ‘Mocca’ is a high quality coffee produced in the coastal part of the Red Sea of Yemen. Brazil and Colombia are the world’s largest exporters of coffee respectively. While the United States is the largest importing country.
- Coffee Indian coffee is world famous for its quality. Arabica variety of coffee is produced in our country which was initially brought from Yemen.
- This type of coffee is in high demand across the world. Its cultivation started from Baba Budan hills and even today it is cultivated in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu around the Nilgiri hills.