Indonesia tea exports rise

Indonesia's tea exports are expected to rise by 29 percent this year supported by improving tea prices, a senior industry official said on Wednesday.
Indonesia is expected to export more than 100,000 tonnes of tea in 2006, compared to 78,219 tonnes in 2005, said Inseam Malik, the chairman of the Indonesia Tea Association. Indonesia, the world's fifth biggest tea exporter, exported 98,572 tonnes of tea in 2004.
The country produces around 160,000 tonnes of tea annually. "Prices of Indonesia's tea in the January-to-April period this year have been improving. The trend would help increase tea exports this year," Malik said.
Indonesia's tea prices averaged at $1.4 a kg between January and April, up from an average of $1.05 a kg during 2005 as drought in Kenya had cut supplies from the world's biggest exporter of black tea, he said.