Tea industry continues to face crisis. Tea consumption in India is the highest in the world, but paradoxically, the Tea Board has just organised a carnival in Chennai to promote drinking of this beverage. The carnival is one of the initiatives being taken by the board to improve the quality perception and price of Nilgiri teas, the most well known in the southern region. India's tea industry, especially in the South, has been passing through an unprecedented crisis because of several factors, including excess production, stagnant consumption, poor quality, increased costs, and a sharp fall in prices.

Bad weather in the Nilgiris led to a drop in tea production to 62.2 million kgs from 63.5 million kgs during the January-November 2005 period. Overall, tea production in South India rose marginally to 173.5 million kg from 169.5 million kg during this period because of better performance in other tea growing areas. Total South Indian tea output, however, is still below the record high of 206 million kg achieved in 2000. Plantations continue to face a severe crisis as the production cost is much more than the prices they get for tea at auctions. The southern region grows almost all the ...

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