India's Tea Exports to Pakistan Up by 42%

India's tea exports to Pakistan have increased by 42 per cent to Rs 116.12 crore in the first eight months of the current financial year on account of rise in volumes and price of the beverage. The overall total exports have also risen by 6 per cent to Rs 2,746.04 crore in the April-November period of 2015-16 from Rs 2,590.08 crore.The exports to Pakistan stood at Rs 81.61 crore in the first eight months of the last fiscal year. In terms of volume also, the outward shipments increased from 9.65 million kg to 11.85 million kg.Total tea exported from India in the period under review also rose to 141.07 million kg from 129.82 million kg according to the Tea Board data. Increase of tea exports was seen in major tea-importing countries like the CIS countries, the UK, Germany, Poland, the UAE, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.Tea production has been low this year mainly due to unfavorable weather conditions and wages issues. During the year, there have been reports of labour migration to other industries rather than staying at the tea gardens on account of issues related to quality of life and wage disputes.India is the world's second-biggest tea producer and also one of its largest consumer. The country exports CTC (crush- tear-curl) grade tea to countries like Egypt, the UK, and other traditional varieties to Iraq, Iran and Russia. Tea plucking in India mainly picks up between July and October.