What could turn out to be the double whammy for tea production, excessive rainfall across key tea producing states in Northeast and severe heatwave in South India have hit production of tea crop that may reduce the output by double-digit this year.
Heatwave conditions or temperatures settling above 45°C at several places in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu during March-April period is likely to reduce tea production by 10%. These states account for 20 per cent of India's total tea production of 1,200 million kg. However, April that usually witness showers suffered from higher temperatures than the normal that affected crop produce by over 5-6 million kg.
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The situation was equally grim in parts of West Bengal where lack of rains and above normal temperatures caused 40% dip in tea production in Darjeeling hills, reports Business Standard.
Moreover, the flavor of tea is expected to turn awful. Excessive rains in parts of Assam have caused production to dip by 30 per cent in the upper and lower valley in Assam.
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“If the rains don’t stop, the Assam tea sector will be in deep trouble,” said C S Bedi, managing director, Rosell India. According to industry estimates, production in the Assam valley during March-April (first flush) is likely to be at 34 million kg against the 44 million kg produced in the corresponding period in 2015.
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