Tea has always been more than a beverage for India , it is conversation in a kulhad, comfort in a steel glass and the aroma that wakes up a billion dreams. In 2025 that familiar cup is also telling an unfamiliar story of global success, as Indian tea quietly turns into a powerful agri-export champion.
Between April and October of FY 2025-26, India’s tea exports touched USD 605.77 million, registering a value growth of USD 79.63 million, or 15.13%, over the same period of the previous year, according to the Department of Commerce and Tea Board of India. This means that in just seven months, Indian plantations, small growers and exporters together brewed more than half a billion dollars in foreign exchange, signalling rising international confidence in India’s farms, factories and quality systems.
The volume picture for 2025 looks modest at first glance but hides a deeper shift towards value and premiumisation. Official Tea Board data show that India’s tea exports in the first half of 2025 (January–June) rose only marginally to 125.01 million kg from 124.57 million kg a year earlier, indicating that the world is buying almost the same quantity of Indian tea as last year. Yet the export value in this six‑month window surged to ₹3,639.45 crore from ₹3,129.31 crore in 2024, while average unit price realisation jumped from ₹251.21 per kg to ₹291.13 per kg.
In simple terms, India is earning significantly more per kilogram of tea than before, a sign that buyers are willing to pay a premium for better quality, consistent flavour and traceable supply chains.
This transformation is also geographic, with the North–South dynamic offering a telling snapshot of how different regions are responding to global demand. North Indian tea exports, largely from Assam and West Bengal, climbed to 79.42 million kg in the first half of 2025, up sharply from 71.77 million kg in the corresponding period of 2024, reflecting strong demand for their robust CTC and distinctive orthodox teas.
South India, however, saw exports slip from 52.80 million kg to 45.59 million kg in the same window, hinting at challenges in price competitiveness and market positioning for teas from Tamil Nadu and Kerala even as some premium Nilgiri and specialty teas continue to find loyal overseas buyers.
Still, when the entire year 2024 is considered, India’s exports of tea stood at 254.67–256.17 million kg, up from 231.69 million kg in 2023, showing that the sector had already entered a growth phase which 2025 is now consolidating through better prices rather than just higher volumes.
For India, these export numbers are not abstract trade statistics; they are intimately linked with lives and livelihoods across the tea belt. India is the second‑largest tea producer in the world and the fourth‑largest exporter, with cultivation spread across the North‑East, North Bengal and the Nilgiris region. The industry supports more than a million workers directly and many more indirectly in transport, packaging, blending and retail, while small tea growers—who supply a large share of the green leaf to factories—depend heavily on stable export demand and remunerative prices.
Rising export value therefore helps push better farm‑gate realisations, sustains employment in remote hill districts and river plains, and strengthens rural purchasing power in states where few alternative industries exist. At a macro level, tea contributes meaningfully to India’s agri‑export basket and foreign‑exchange earnings, offering the country a hedge against volatility in other commodity markets.
This remarkable performance is not accidental; it is the result of years of investment, policy support and quiet innovation across the value chain. Producers in Assam, West Bengal and the South have increasingly embraced good agricultural practices, scientific pruning, soil management and precision plucking to improve leaf quality, while factories have upgraded with modern withering, rolling and firing equipment to deliver more consistent teas.
The Tea Board and the government have pushed for stricter adherence to food safety norms and residue standards, which has boosted buyer confidence in markets that demand traceability and sustainability. At the same time, aggressive participation in global trade fairs, branding initiatives under the “Indian Tea” umbrella and targeted outreach to markets like the UAE, Russia, Iran, the UK and the US have diversified India’s buyer base and reduced over‑reliance on any single destination. This combination of farm‑level improvement, factory modernisation and market‑side agility is what lies behind the double‑digit growth in export value seen in 2025.
The roots of this export story lie deep in India ’s tea‑growing states, whose landscapes have shaped the flavours that the world is now paying more to savour. Assam remains the undisputed giant of Indian tea, contributing nearly half of national production, with estates in Upper Assam—Jorhat, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Sivasagar—renowned for their full‑bodied, malty CTC and orthodox teas that form the backbone of many global breakfast blends.
West Bengal follows as the second‑largest producer with a share of about 31 percent, anchored by Darjeeling’s high‑elevation gardens, the Dooars and Terai plains; Darjeeling’s GI‑tagged teas, especially the spring flush, fetch premium prices in Europe and Japan and are a key brand ambassador for Indian tea overseas.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala, together accounting for around 15–17 percent of output, bring the misty Nilgiri and Anamalai profiles into the global mix, while other states such as Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tripura and Sikkim add niche volumes and unique flavour signatures that appeal to specialty buyers and boutique brands. This diversity of terroir allows India to offer everything from strong CTC for mass blends to delicate orthodox, green and specialty teas for connoisseurs, enriching its export basket.
As 2025 unfolds, India’s tea success is a reminder that when traditional strengths meet modern systems, even a humble leaf can become a strategic export asset. The leap to USD 605.77 million in seven months, the rise in unit prices and the resilience of North Indian exporters together show that Indian tea is no longer just filling containers; it is climbing the value ladder.
For policy‑makers, the challenge ahead will be to extend quality gains to South Indian regions, deepen support for small growers, promote climate‑resilient cultivation and keep investing in brand India Tea so that this export story does not plateau. For millions of workers and growers across Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and beyond, each shipment is not just commerce but continuity—a way to ensure that the next generation can still look at the rolling green of tea bushes and see not nostalgia but a sustainable, globally connected future.
