February 25, 2007	Sunday	Safar 7, 1428

GUWAHATI, Feb 24: India's tea producers are reporting record production and a jump in exports after a nine-year slump caused by weak domestic demand and increased international competition, an industry body said on Saturday.

“The Indian tea industry (is) beginning to look up, with overseas demand on the increase, mainly due to very good quality teas produced by us,” said Dhiraj Kakaty, a senior Indian Tea Association official in Assam state.

“The overall mood is vibrant.” The north-eastern state of Assam accounts for over half of the tea production in India, the world's biggest producer, followed by China.

India's $1.5-bn tea industry has been in a slump since 1998 with prices and exports plummeting.

But last year it produced a record 955 million kilograms (2.1 billion pounds), 27m kilograms more than in 2005, Kakaty said.

Exports went up by about 8 million kilograms to 200 million kilograms.

Now, weekly auction prices are on the rise as well. Prices for good-quality Assam tea last week hit 73 rupees a kilogram after languishing below 65 rupees last year.

Global demand for tea from India improved after the industry worked hard to reposition itself as a top-quality provider, Kakaty said.

“We are getting more overseas enquiries and that in itself is an encouraging trend,” the official said.

“There is no glut in the market now, unlike in previous years.” Countries, such as Pakistan, Egypt, Iran and Iraq figure prominently in the export list and the tea body set up a marketing bureau in Tehran in March as part of an aggressive campaign to boost sales of the beverage there.—AFP