India has surpassed Sri Lanka to become the world’s second-largest exporter of tea with 255 million kg of tea exports in 2024, while Kenya has retained the top spot, according to data compiled by the Tea Board of India.

India’s tea exports touched a 10-year high at 255 million kg in 2024 despite the uncertainties in the global market triggered by geopolitical tensions.

The country’s exports shot up by a robust 10 per cent during the year from the corresponding figure of 231.69 million kg recorded in 2023.

The value of India’s exports jumped by over 15 per cent to Rs 7,111 crore in 2024 from Rs 6,161 crore in 2023 as the prices were also higher during the year.

There was a sharp increase in shipments to Iraq, accounting for 20 per cent of tea exports, and merchants are expecting to send 40-50 million kg to the west Asian country this fiscal, he said.

Indian exporters, who entered several markets of west Asia when the Sri Lankan crop was low, managed to retain the shipment volumes there, he said.

India exports tea to more than 25 countries with the UAE, Iraq, Iran, Russia, USA and the UK as its major markets.

India is among the top five tea exporters in the world accounting for about 10 per cent of total world exports.

India’s Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri tea are considered one of the finest in the world. Most of the tea exported out of India is black tea which makes up about 96 per cent of total exports. The other varieties include regular tea, green tea, herbal tea, masala tea and lemon tea.

India has taken several steps to boost tea output, create a niche brand for Indian tea and to ensure the welfare of the families associated with the tea industry.

The Assam Valley and Cachar are the two tea-producing regions in Assam. In West Bengal, Dooars, Terai and Darjeeling are the three major tea producer regions.

The southern part of India produces about 17 per cent of the country's total output with the major producing states being Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka.

Small tea growers are the emerging sector contributing nearly 52 per cent of the total produce.

At present there are nearly 2.30 lakh small tea growers existing in the supply chain.

The Government of India through the Tea Board has taken several steps to benefit this segment. These include the formation of 352 Self Help Group (SHG), 440 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) and 17 Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs).

Various interactions are also carried out with STGs for quality plucking, capacity building and rush crop management. Besides, assistance has been provided towards procurement of pruning machines and mechanical harvesters.

Mini tea factories have also been set up to encourage entrepreneurs and unemployed youth.

The Indian tea Industry employs 1.16 million workers directly and an equal number of people are associated with it indirectly.