Indian tea industry records highest ever production
Kolkata, May 8: Achieving a historic feat, the Indian tea industry recorded the highest ever production of 1,325.05 million kg as well as export of 256.57 million kg during the financial year 2017-18, official figures released on Tuesday revealed.
The total tea production in 2017-18 went up by 74.56 million kg or 5.96 per cent, as compared to the corresponding figure in 2016-17, according to Tea Board India.
In 2016-17, India produced 1,250.49 million kg of tea.
Similarly, the total quantity of tea exports during the 2017-18 fiscal increased by 28.94 million kg or 12.71 per cent as compared to the last corresponding period. The tea exports stood at 227.63 million kg in 2016-17.
The foreign exchange realised from tea exports was $785.92 million in 2017-18, a rise of $95.19 million or 13.78 per cent over 2016-17 when it had earned $690.73 million.
In rupee terms, the total value of the exports was pegged at Rs 5,064.88 crore during 2017-18.
The value realisation increased by Rs 432.38 crore or 9.33 per cent over 2016-17 (Rs 4,632.50 crore).
The growth in exports was majorly driven by five countries - Egypt (7.49 million kg), Iran 6.95 million kg), Pakistan (4.96 million kg), China (2.91 million kg) and Russia (2.89 million kg).
The earlier record for the highest quantity of tea exports was during the financial year 1976-77 when the total quantity exported was 242.42 million kg.
According to Tea Board India, the trend towards a new record in exports was evident in 2017 (January-December) itself as the total quantity of exports stood at 251.91 million kg, an increase of 29.46 million kgs or 13.24 per cent over 2016, with value realisation at $766.06 million, rising by $100.90 million, a rise of 15.17 per cent.
During the calendar year 2016, the total exports were 222.45 million kg, with value realisation at $665.16 million.
The previous highest export quantity for a calendar year was in 1981 when the total tea exports had reached 241.25 million kg.
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Vice President Radhakrishnan meets Sri Lankan President Dissanayake
Colombo (PTI): Vice President C P Radhakrishnan met Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake here on Sunday and held discussions on various initiatives, including the Indian housing project, and fishermen issues between the two South Asian neighbours.
Radhakrishnan, who arrived here earlier in the day on a two-day visit, also discussed with Dissanayake the ongoing Indian project implementation in Sri Lanka with emphasis on the USD 450 million Cyclone Ditwah aid offered by India.
Accompanied by a 49-member delegation, the vice president was received at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo by Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage and several other dignitaries.
Radhakrishnan’s visit is the first ever by an Indian vice president to Sri Lanka, officials said.
Radhakrishnan laid emphasis on India’s 'Neighbourhood First' policy and developmental bilateral cooperation, officials said.
“Both leaders held productive discussions on further deepening the multifaceted India–Sri Lanka ties, rooted in shared history, strong civilizational and people-to-people linkages,” according to a social media post by Radhakrishnan.
They held wide-ranging discussions on various initiatives, including the Indian housing project and projects being implemented under the USD 450 million package for areas affected by Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka, including reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the most affected regions of the Indian-origin Tamil community, it added.
The two sides also discussed addressing fishermen issues in a humanitarian manner, considering the livelihoods of fishing communities on both sides.
The fishermen issue is a contentious one in the ties between India and Sri Lanka.
The Palk Strait, a narrow strip of water separating Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka, is a rich fishing ground for fishermen from both countries.
Fishermen from both countries are arrested frequently for inadvertently trespassing into each other's waters.
Later in the day, he is expected to meet with Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.
A number of memoranda of understanding between the two countries are also scheduled to be exchanged during the visit, a Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry release said.
This visit, which follows recent high-level engagements between the two countries, is expected to further strengthen the millennia-old civilisational and people-to-people ties between India and Sri Lanka, an official statement said.
