According to an article from The Assam Tribune, a combination of a rise in production and a surge in imports has led to a plummeting of tea prices this year. From January to June, tea imports from Kenya increased by 45% compared to the previous year. Last year, Kenya exported 13.7 million kg of tea to India, which was a 288% increase over the prior year. Tea production in upper Assam is also up by approximately 20% this year.
The oversupply from both production and imports has caused prices to crash. At the Guwahati auctions, the average price from April to August is about ₹20 lower than the same period last year. While better quality teas are still selling at a reasonable level, lower quality teas are in low demand. The Tea Association of India’s president, Sandeep Singhania, expressed apprehension that exporters are importing cheap, duty-free teas, blending them with Indian teas, and then re-exporting them as “Indian-origin,” which misrepresents the product and damages the credibility of Indian tea exports.