During January-October 2018, India exported 7.76 million kg (mkg) of tea to China valued at around Rs. 135 crore, a growth of over 19 per cent as compared to 6.5 mkg in the year-ago period.

According to ITA Chairman Vivek Goenka, the numbers are likely to grow to close to 15 mkg by December 2019.

India exported close to 240 million kg (mkg) of tea in 2017. Russia, the UAE, the UK and Iran are some of the major markets for Indian teas.

“China imports close to 30 mkg of tea annually, a major share of which comes from Sri Lanka. That is also because they keep organising frequent trade delegations. If we are more active and take concerted efforts then we should be able to export close to 15 mkg of tea to China by December 2019,” Goenka said.