టీ

టీ: India as the world's 2nd-largest producer

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is grown on roughly 0.64 million hectares producing 1,328 million kg of made tea in 2024 (Tea Board of India). India is the world's second-largest producer (after China) and largest consumer — domestic consumption absorbs ~1,150 M kg with ~180 M kg exported (Iran, UAE, Russia top buyers). Unlike field crops, tea has no MSP under the CACP framework; instead the Tea Board operates aMinimum Indicative Price (MIP) of ₹250/kg for CTC dust grade(notified 2024 to halt the price collapse below ₹160/kg in 2021-22 caused by Sri Lankan organic dumping). The MIP is enforced through auction-house non-clearance rules — no tea below MIP can be cleared at Kolkata, Guwahati, Coonoor or Coimbatore auctions.

Geographic concentration

Assam (51%): the world's largest contiguous tea belt — Brahmaputra valley (Dibrugarh, Jorhat, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Sonitpur) plus Barak valley (Cachar, Karimganj). Dominated by Assam-type (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) bushes producing strong malty CTC tea. ~700 M kg annually. Tocklai (Jorhat) is the world's oldest tea research institute (1911).

West Bengal (26%): Darjeeling (Himalayan foothills, 1,000-2,500 m elevation, China-type bushes producing premium orthodox tea, ~10 M kg) + Dooars + Terai (north Bengal plains, CTC-style production ~330 M kg). Darjeeling tea holds GI registration globally — first GI ever granted to a non-European agricultural product.

Tamil Nadu (13%): Nilgiris (Coonoor, Ooty, Gudalur), 1,000-2,200 m. Mix of orthodox + CTC. UPASI Tea Research Foundation at Valparai. ~165 M kg.

Kerala (5%): Munnar, Wayanad, Idukki high ranges. ~65 M kg. Mostly orthodox + green tea for specialty export.

Karnataka (2%): small high-elevation pockets in Chikmagalur.

Clones — TV series (Assam) and UPASI series (South India)

Tea propagation is via clones from selected mother bushes — seed propagation is rare because it gives high variability. TV-23, TV-25, TV-26 (Tocklai Variety series) are the Assam workhorses — 25-30 q/ha (made tea) potential, blister-blight tolerant, drought tolerant. UPASI-9, UPASI-17 (UPASI Coonoor) are the South Indian standards — 25-27 q/ha, suited to South India's split cropping pattern. AV-2 (Ambari Vegetative-2, Darjeeling) is the China-type clone for premium orthodox. Iyer Pillai and Gulmav are other South Indian clones. Tea clones take 7-9 years from planting to commercial yield but then yield for 60-80 years — making clone selection a generational decision.

Plucking, manufacturing, the "flushes"

Tea is plucked from the two-and-a-bud growing tip every 7-14 days through the cropping season. Each plucking round is called a "flush". The Darjeeling calendar:

• First flush (March-April): the prestige crop — premium pricing ₹1,500-12,000/kg in retail for Castleton, Margaret's Hope, Goomtee estates.
• Second flush (May-June): the muscatel-flavoured peak — Darjeeling's iconic crop.
• Rains flush (July-September): high volume, lower quality, CTC-equivalent prices.
• Autumn flush (October-November): mellower, lighter tea, growing in specialty appeal.

Assam follows a similar pattern with first flush March-April, second flush May-June (the "tippy" peak), and rains flush July-September. Manufacturing splits into CTC (Crush-Tear-Curl, modern, ~92% of output) and orthodox (traditional full-leaf, ~8% but rising for specialty export).

Nutrient and pest management

Mature tea is a heavy feeder. NPK schedule: 200:75:150 kg/ha for established CTC estates, often higher (250:100:200) in Assam. Foliar nutrients (Zn, B, Mg) are critical because the regular plucking removes nutrients faster than soil supply. Tea is acidic-soil-loving (pH 4.5-5.5); regular lime application is unnecessary — indeed harmful.

Tea mosquito bug (Helopeltis theivora) is the dominant biotic pest in Assam and Dooars — necrotic lesions on tender shoots, destroying the pluckable bud-bud-leaf. Thiamethoxam 25WG, deltamethrin 2.8EC, and the more recent sulfoxaflor 50WG (label-approved for tea in 2023) are rotation options.Red spider mite (Oligonychus coffeae) is the second-largest pest — propargite 57EC controls. Blister blight (Exobasidium vexans) attacks young leaves in cool wet conditions — copper oxychloride 50WP preventive sprays. Looper caterpillar (Buzura suppressaria) attacks established bushes; Bacillus thuringiensis biocontrol effective.

Economics — the auction system and the MIP rescue

Tea sells primarily through six public auction centres (Kolkata, Guwahati, Siliguri, Coonoor, Coimbatore, Kochi) where bulk-graded bulk lots are sold to wholesalers. Average all-India auction price 2024 was ₹230/kg for CTC, ₹275/kg for orthodox. Darjeeling first-flush GI-tagged orthodox averaged ₹1,200/kg auction. The 2021-22 price collapse (CTC auction ₹160/kg, below cost of production ₹190/kg) triggered the Tea Board's MIP framework — non-clearance of below-MIP lots forced auction prices up by ₹40-70/kg within six months.

A typical Assam estate's cost structure (per kg made tea): green leaf production ₹100/kg, manufacturing + bought-leaf-margin ₹70/kg, garden overhead ₹30/kg, total ₹200/kg. At ₹230/kg CTC auction realisation, net margin is ₹30/kg — thin. Bought-leaf small growers (now >50% of Assam's green leaf) operate at lower per-kg cost (~₹110-130/kg) but sell green leaf at ₹16-22/kg (factory rates), translating to ₹6-8/kg margin — extremely thin and vulnerable to factory rate cuts. The smallholder economics drove the 2021-22 distress and the MIP rescue.

Schemes and the small-grower transition

Tea Board's Plantation Development Scheme provides 50% subsidy on uprooting and replanting (₹1.5 lakh/ha), small-grower group formation, and quality-upgradation training. The Comprehensive Welfare Scheme covers worker housing, healthcare and education in registered tea estates (a legacy from the Plantation Labour Act). Specifically for small growers, the Tea Board's Special Purpose Tea Fund (SPTF) provides 25% subsidy on bought-leaf factory establishment. The Spices Board and APEDA support specialty/organic/green tea exports.

The specialty and export pivot

India's tea industry is structurally pivoting from commodity CTC (declining real prices since 2010) toward specialty (orthodox, green, white, oolong) for export and premium domestic markets. The 2024 export record of $1.7 billion — driven by Iran (₹/Rial depreciation), UAE re-exports, and EU specialty demand — reflects this pivot. Tocklai and UPASI breeding pipelines now emphasise specialty-trait clones (catechin profile, terpene aromatics) rather than pure yield. Small-grower training in plucking quality ("fine plucking" = bud + 2 leaves vs the historic "coarse plucking" = bud + 4 leaves) is the largest underway lever for upgrading bought-leaf factory output from CTC ₹230/kg toward orthodox ₹350-400/kg — a structural farmer-welfare improvement that the Tea Board is actively scaling.