India’s February tea output drops 21%

MUMBAI (Reuters): India’s tea production in February fell 21% from a year earlier to 13.54 million kg as a severe drought in the southern state of Tamil Nadu hit plucking, the state-run Tea Board said.

Tamil Nadu produced 8.41 million kg of tea in February, down 20% from the year-earlier period, the Board said in a statement.

India, the world’s second-biggest tea producer, exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) grade mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK, and the orthodox variety to Iraq, Iran and Russia.