India's April tea output drops 4pc y/y

MUMBAI: India's tea production in April fell 4pc from a year earlier to 84.42 million kg due to lower plucking in the top producing north-eastern state of Assam, the state-run Tea Board said on Monday.

In the first four months of 2019, India produced 188.03 million kg of tea, up 4.3pc from a year ago because of higher production in March, 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 United Kingdom, with the orthodox variety exported to Iraq, Iran and Russia.

The country's tea exports in January to April nudged up 0.4pc to 81.59 million kg, it said.