Indian tea exports down

Shipping delays saw tea exports from India, the world's largest producer and consumer, fall by an annual 15.1 percent in September, although production rose from a year earlier, a senior Tea Board official said on Friday.
Tea exports in September were 17.4 million kg, down from 20.5 million kg a year earlier, the Tea Board said. In August, exports rose an annual 6.6 percent.
"Overall we are doing alright since January, and the slump in exports is related to shipping delays which we will overcome in the remaining months (of 2006)," Gangan Boriah, director of the state-run Tea Board told Reuters.
At 131.6 million kg, total tea exports for the January-September period were 0.4 percent higher than 131.1 million kg in the same period last year. While exports fell in September, Indian tea production in the month increased by 7 percent to 117 million kg from 109.3 million kg a year earlier, the Tea Board said.
"The increase in production has been steady throughout the year, with production from all regions doing well to help us achieve our targets," Boriah said on Friday. Output for January to September was up by 3.5 percent to 704.3 million kg from 680.4 million kg a year earlier.
India is projected to produce 945 million kg of tea this year, up from 928 million kg in 2005, with exports seen rising to 195 million kg from 192 million last year, the Tea Board.