The Economic Times reports that raw tea leaf prices for small tea growers in Assam, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, and South India have crashed by nearly 50% this year to ₹14 per kg. This is a result of rising imports of cheaper tea from Kenya and Nepal, coupled with uncertainty over new U.S. tariffs impacting demand. This oversupply has also led to a downward spiral in the retail prices of processed tea, which are expected to ease further. The sharp fall is affecting an estimated 24 million small tea growers who contribute 54% of the country’s total tea production.
India’s tea imports have doubled to 50.14 million kg in FY25, and industry executives are concerned that exporters are blending cheap, duty-free imported teas with Indian varieties and re-exporting them as “Indian-origin”. While some sources also attribute the price fall to overproduction, the overall trend is expected to remain weak for the rest of the year.