Tea consumers should be ready to pay more their tea, as high cost of inputs, low supply and hiked wages to tea garden workers leads to a rise in prices. Sources indicate that tea prices will go up by Rs 10 per Kg, as the new season begins this year.
The gap between demand and supply has steadily been rising over the past years. This gap has been driven by a rise in consumption, of over 3 to 3.5 percent per year, with no significant increase in plantation land.
Statistics collected by the Indian Tea Association, show that total production for 2011 hit 985 million Kg, which was 966 million higher than the previous year. However, this supply missed the targeted 1 billion kg mark due to unfavorable weather conditions. On top of that, tea worker’s wages in West Bengal were raised by 34% in 2011.
The CEO and MD of Goodricke Group , indicates that mechanization may the best option to overcome labor costs.