Even as Indian tea exporters to the US are already facing some order cancellations following the imposition of stiff 50 per cent tariffs, the exporters are hopeful of making up for the losses in the United States by growing shipments of the brew to newer markets like China.
Exporters are hoping that the Government comes up with urgent financial support to them for promotional activities and ensures stricter compliance with pesticide residue in teas produce in India.
The US is a significant market for Indian tea. India’s tea export to the US stood at around 17 million kgs last year. This year till May, Indian export to the US was at 6.26 million kgs.
“In the current situation, Indian tea exports to the United States will definately be hampered. Many export orders are likely to be cancelled due to the stiff duty on imports from India. There have already been some cancellations of previous orders by some of the buyers in the US. Different buyers are taking different approaches depending on their buying capacity and in what segment they are in. Also, there has been pressure on us to reduce prices,” Indian Tea Exporters Association Chairman Anshuman Kanoria told businessline.
The additional 25 per cent tariff by the US on Indian products for the country’s purchases of Russian oil came into effect on August 27, bringing the total amount of levy imposed on India to 50 per cent.
In the black tea segment, the primary suppliers to the United States are India, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Malawi.
The Indian Tea Association (ITA) has expressed its concern about the high tariff imposition by theTrump administration on imports from India, stating that it is likely to impact Indian tea exports to the United States.
“The recent imposition of a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods is likely to impact Indian tea exports to the US. Any increase in cost cannot be absorbed by the supply chain, given that the producers are already operating on very thin margins,” ITA said in a statement.
According to the Indian Tea Exporters Association, China is a huge market for teas, and there is a significant opportunity for Indian exporters to increase shipments there as the relationship between the two countries is improving.
“India’s relationship with China is currently improving. China is a huge market for teas. Last year, our exports to the country stood at around 6-7 million kgs. There is an opportunity to increase the shipments substantially,” Kanoria said.
According to him, in order to enter a new market, exporters need to have interactions with importers and awareness of consumers.
“In order to educate the consumers, you need to have free tea tasting sessions at specific spots. But for this you need a lot of investment by way of promotion funding which has to come from the Government. However, the problem is no funding is coming from the Government at present for the promotion of tea. But it is particularly required in this crisis situation,” Kanoria pointed out.
He said the most important issue that concerns Indian tea exporters to expand overseas shipment is the very low level of MRL (Maximum Residue Level) compliance by the country’s producer of the brew, and the Government should look into the matter immediately.
“Around 98 per cent of the tea producers are in violation of the Food and Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) law. No action is being taken against them. The no. 1 problem to increase our exports to the western markets or the eastern markets is India does not have enough pesticides compliance skill to match the international standard. So, our ability to increase markets in Europe or in Japan, among other countries, is very limited. What we need from the government is tighter MRL compliance,” Kanoria added.
India’s tea exports during January-May this year increased by 15.09 per cent in value and 16.85 per cent in unit price, despite a marginal decline of 1.51 per cent in quantity.
Notably, buoyed by higher demands from mostly Iraq and Iran, India’s overall tea export registered close to 10 per cent y-o-y growth at 254.67 mkg in 2024 compared to 231.69 mkg in 2023.
Published on September 2, 2025