KOLKATA: Tea production in north India has been severely affected due to heavy rains especially during the month of September, an official of Indian Tea Association (ITA) said.
Quoting Tea Board figures, the official said production in Assam during September this year was down by 31 million kilograms, while for Dooars and Terai in the West Bengal, there was a decline of around nine million kilograms due to adverse climatic conditions.
Overall crop production up to September 2017 in Assam, which accounted for 50 percent of total production, was down by 23 million kilograms. He said, although, there had been a slight recovery in production in October.
The advent of an early winter also held the prospect of a further decline in production this year, the official said, adding that the industry was apprehensive of the recovery of the crop in the current production cycle.