The International Tea Committee (ITC) estimates India's 2020 exports will fall 7%. In March, exports from India slumped 34% and nearly halved from Sri Lanka, India's Commerce Ministry and tea brokers say. In India, the first flush usually begins in March, while the second flush starts in May. In Sri Lanka, tea production was down nearly a quarter due to an earlier drought, and the virus is now affecting exports, said Jayampathy Molligoda, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tea Board. Turkey, the world's top tea consumer per capita, is usually self-sufficient in production but faces its own labour shortage.

Source: bd News24 April 29, 2020 03:45 UTC