Tea Industry in India Suffers Double Whammy From Rains and Kenya

Workers carry bags of tea on their heads while loading a truck at a Tea Estate in Assam, India.

Photographer: Sanjit Das/Bloomberg
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India’s long-established tea industry is struggling.

Heavy rains and the absence of tea pickers because of lockdowns have hammered production and sent local prices spiraling to records, while top buyers are turning to Kenya where the market has dropped, said Azam Monem, director at Mcleod Russel India Ltd., one of the country’s biggest growers.