Excessive rains in India lead to low Darjeeling tea output

CALCUTTA, India (Reuters) -- Excessive rains in the eastern Himalayan district of Darjeeling have hit output of India's premium tea, raising fears that this year's crop will not better the record low of calendar 1999, trade officials said.

But a fall in output and government measures to prevent the Darjeeling label being attached to blended teas might help planters get a higher price, reversing the market trend since January, they said.

"Tea production in August was more than 20 percent lower than August last year," Darjeeling Planters' Association Chairman Ashok Lohia told Reuters on Wednesday.

Output in Darjeeling rose to 4.78 million kg in January-July from 4.08 million in the corresponding period last year.

Last year, output fell to 9.29 million kg from 10.73 million in 1998.

The trade body had not quantified August output but the vast majority of the region's 78 estates had indicated a 20-25 percent fall in production in August, Lohia said.

August output was usually about 15 percent of the year's total production in Darjeeling.

Lohia said production had been hit by rain and a lack of sunshine. Low temperature in September indicated an early onset of winter, when the tea season ends and estates focus on maintenance and replanting.

"There may not be much Darjeeling tea available by the end of this year," Lohia said.

Planters expect reduced supply to pull up prices, which have been falling since the beginning of this year.

At the last weekly Calcutta tea auction, Darjeeling tea prices fell to 135.40 rupees a kg from 138.15 rupees a year ago, while the volume sold dipped to 115,327 kg from 119,902 over the same period.

The average price in January-August fell to 179.51 rupees from 186.73 in the same period last year.

Planters also said that a trademark protection plan announced by the government earlier this year should improve demand for Darjeeling tea in the coming months.

The programme, which bars blending of Darjeeling tea with other grades, was launched after planters complained that blenders were diluting Darjeeling tea with inferior grades, effectively reducing demand and so the price of premium grades of Darjeeling.

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