West Asia crisis threatens Assam tea exports, price stability
About 9% of Assam’s total tea yield is of the orthodox variety. A majority of orthodox teas are exported, with Iran being one of its major destinations.;

Guwahati, June 26: The West Asia crisis stands to impact Assam tea severely in terms of disruption in exports, which in turn could trigger a demand-supply imbalance in the domestic market as well.
Besides Iran, the overall West Asian market which also comprises Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE, accounts for some 90 million kgs of Indian tea, comprising about 35 per cent of total tea exports.
Significantly, about 9 per cent of Assam’s total tea yield is of the orthodox variety. A majority of orthodox teas are exported, with Iran being one of its major destinations.
Experts have pointed out that any reduction in exports would also result in more tea available in the domestic market, which will create a demand-supply mismatch. It in turn will impact the price realization at the farm gate level.
“Out of India’s total tea export, about 20 per cent is exported to Iran alone. Therefore, the ongoing crisis in Iran would have an impact on the Indian tea industry. Iraq is also an important market for Indian tea. Then, out of the total tea production of Assam, about 9 per cent is of the orthodox variety. A majority of orthodox teas are exported and Iran is one of the major destinations of Assam Orthodox tea,” Bidyananda Barkakoty, adviser of, the North Eastern Tea Association (NETA), told The Assam Tribune.
Barkakoty said that overall, about 15 per cent of India’s tea production is exported and any disruption in exports triggered by the ongoing crisis in West Asia would have an adverse effect on the Assam tea industry too. Assam, again, produces about 50 per cent of the country’s tea and the tea sector also provides livelihood to lakhs of people.
The developments also threaten to undo India’s achievement of a significant milestone in the global tea industry last year, when it surpassed Sri Lanka to become the world’s second-largest exporter of tea in 2024.
According to Tea Board of India data, the country exported an impressive 255 million kgs of tea in 2024 year, marking a substantial growth of ten per cent in its export figures.
Tea exporters have already witnessed a disruption in exports to Iran in the wake of the conflict, with premium orthodox tea shipments worth over Rs 150 crore being impacted.
India exports tea to more than 25 countries with the UAE, Iraq, Iran, Russia, USA and the UK as its major markets and is among the top five tea exporters in the world accounting for about 10 per cent of total world exports.