India's tea output is expected to have risen to 425.6 million kg between January and July from 384.5 million in the same period last year, a planters' association said on Monday.
Favourable weather in the eastern states of Assume and West Bengal and in tea-producing centers in southern India boosted output, industry officials said. Assam and West Bengal account for about 80 percent of the country's tea output.
"The weather has been excellent for tea," said a United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI) official. "In southern India, we had poor rains in the last few years but this year the weather has been good for tea."
Tea exports during the period are seen falling to 89.7 million kg from 101.1 million last years, the association said in a statement on the opening day of its two-day meeting in the southern hill town of Coiner. Exports have fallen largely due to lower shipments to Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States countries, officials said. India's tea industry dogged by labours troubles and falling international prices, faces a tough challenges from Sri Lankan and Kenyan producers.
The planters' body said rubber output was seen rising to 269,000 tones between April and August from 261,000 tonnes in the same period a year ago, mainly because of good rains. It said its coffee output estimates were in line with the state-run Coffee Board's projections.
The Coffee Board had in July estimated coffee output to rise to 294,000 tonnes in the year to September 2006 from 275,500 tonnes in the previous year. But traders said production was expected to be lower than estimated because of pest attacks.
"Pest attacks which hit the crop last year are still continuing in some regions and the estimates would be lowered," an association official said. The board will issue its post monsoon estimates in October.
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