Tea Industry: Becoming hotter or cooler??

Globally, tea output has received a setback with production trend reflecting to be lower than target. Tea production in Kenya—one of the largest producers and exporters of tea — recorded a decline in February 2011 due to hot and dry weather conditions in the main Rift Valley producing areas. Similarly, tea output in Tanzania—Africa’s fourth largest producer — is expected to be lower than target after a drought affected yields.

Food Processing Industry in India

The Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Subodh Kant Sahai has said that India is set to witness the next revolution in Food Processing Industry. The Centre has set an investment target of rupees one lakh crore by 2015 in the sector. The sector is expected to grow by 20% and value addition to increase by 35% by 2015. Food Processing Industry is a potential source for driving the rural economy and is of great importance to an agrarian economy like India. – Source: PIB

Here’s a brief note on the Indian Food Processing Industry..

Price of Cotton surges to highest levels in 15 yrs

Cotton futures extended their rally to the highest price in more than 15 years on rising demand from textile mills. Delayed harvests and booming demand in Asia are cutting into supplies.

Fertiliser Industry in India: Aftermath of NBS Policy

While the government has implemented the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) Policy, urea consumption still remains high.

Decontrol of Sugar Industry Proposed in India

The Agriculture and Food Minister, Sharad Pawar has proposed decontrolling the sugar industry from October 2010. Reportedly, the minister has made the following recommendations:

Impact of Monsoon 2010 on Indian Industries

After the drought in 2009, close to 85% of the Indian subcontinent received excess/normal rainfall during the current monsoon season (between June 1 and August 4, 2010). Rainfall has been only 2% below the long period average (LPA) during this time. The LPA of seasonal rainfall across India is 89cm, which is the rainfall averaged during the monsoon seasons (June to September) during 1941-90.

Out of 36 meteorological subdivisions, rainfall has been excess in 11, normal in 20 and deficient in five sub-divisions. However, besides the actual rainfall, its spatio-temporal distribution also makes a difference and can paint a different picture from the LPA. This spatio-temporal distribution criteria requires that rainfall should be well spread across the geographical area of the country and even across the monsoon period. In the current monsoon season, rainfall has been well distributed across regions and the monsoon period.

The southwest monsoon is important for India as about 60% of the country’s farm-lands are rain-fed and agriculture accounts for a fifth of the GDP. More than half of the workforce in the country is employed in this sector. Thus, monsoon has both direct and indirect impact on various sections of the economy.

Direct Impact

Sugar Industry in India anxious to be decontrolled

The sugar industry is heading towards a glut in the current year from the deficit it faced in the sugar year October 2008-September 2009. This has made the industry participants anxious. Right from demanding re-imposition of customs duty on imports of sugar to deregulation to considering a new cane pricing formula, they are trying it all. 

Monsoon rains 2010 deviate 10% below normal: Impact on Industries

The progress of the south-west monsoon has been quite good in the last week of June and first week of July 2010. Rainfall during 1 June-7 July stood at 204.0 mm, 10% below normal. This is good progress considering -22% deviation from normal until 24 June 2010.

Actual rainfall has been scanty in only one region — East Uttar Pradesh (-67%) and deficient in 10 regions of India. Mainly parts of the central belt, covering MP, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar & West Bengal.

Details of the rainfall distribution are given by IMD.

Impact of the monsoon till 7 July on Indian Industries….

Tea industry in India

I read an article stating India’s tea production may not be able to reach the 1 billion kg mark. This lead me to reading further in to the dynamics of the tea industry in India.

I have tried to put together some pieces of information on the Indian Tea Industry.

Tea industry in India revives

All-India tea production rose by 12.3% to 1.62 lakh tonnes during January-April 2010. The Southern states performed better than the Northern counterparts. The states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka recorded between 13-24% y-o-y growth. Production in Assam–the largest tea producing state in India, recorded a 9.6 per cent growth.

India is the second largest producer of tea in the world with production at 979 million kg in 2009. Following the prediction of a normal monsoon forecast by the India meteorological department, the Tea Board had earlier said that production in 2010 could be around one billion kg. However, achievement of that target looks dicey.