Tea Production On Decline
While most of India is currently dealing with monsoon season, eastern regions of the country, like Assam, are facing drought. Why is this a major issue? Assam is the second largest producer of tea globally at producing 11 percent of the world's tea, and is the central area for India's tea industry.
According to The Indian Tea Association, production fell 6 percent in May. The oldest organization of tea producers in the country continued to note that May was a critical month for production and the monsoons came late.
Water is the most consumed drink world wide, but right after that is tea. On any given day, over 50 percent of American's are drinking tea (65 percent tea bags, 25 percent ready to drink, and 10 percent instant and loose). Most tea being consumed in the U.S. is black tea; India is both the biggest producer and biggest consumer of black tea. But still, the tea industry faces periodic crisis.
The tea industry employs more than three million workers in India alone. And because of inconsistent environmental situations, the quality of the tea has been inconsistent. This results in concern for foreign buyers of Indian tea. That concern is decreasing though now that the Tea Board Of India has put random tea-testing into place in export markets.