Tea Growing Countries

establish large plantations. At present 800 ha is under tea and the annual production is 2 million kg. Most of the tea (nearly 700 ha) is grown in North Queensland. The other area is in Northern New South Wales.

Tea was introduced in the country around 1923 and there was rapid development in 1960. The main tea growing areas are Misiones and NE Corrientes at altitudes ranging from 150-390 m. Tea is grown by about 9000 farmers, majority of whom have holdings with less than 10 ha. The total planted area is about 44000 ha with an annual production of 56 million kg. Tea is harvested mainly from October to April and harvesting is fully mechanized. Domestic consumption is not high and most of the production is exported to EU, Chili, Russia, UK, Netherlands and Belgium.

In Bangladesh tea was introduced in 1839-40 in Chittagong and commercial cultivation started in Sylhet in 1854. The main tea growing areas are Surma valley in greater sythet and Halda valley in Chittagong. Currently Bangaldesh has about 48000 ha under tea and annually produces 54 million kg of tea. Both black and green teas are manufactured; black, CTC teas account for about 99% of the production the rest being green tea. Tea is an important cash crop in Bangaldesh and accounts for 0.81% of the GDP. The industry and related activities promote job for 0.15 million people which constitute 5.30% of the industrial employment in Bangladesh. Almost 50% of the tea produced is exported. Tea Research in the country is carried out by the Bangladesh Tea Research Institute.

At present China has 1.1 million ha of land under tea and produces around 600 million kg of tea. China produces a variety of teas such as green tea, scented tea, oolong tea, white tea compressed tea and black tea. Zhejiang is the largest tea producing province and the other important tea growing provinces are Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hubei, Guangdong, Guanxi, Hainan, Sichuan,Guizhou, Yunnan and Hunan. China is emerging as a major producer of black teas. Records show that the country had exported 100 million kg black tea as early as in 1988. Of the 190 million kg tea exported, 73 m.kg was balck tea, 80 m.kg green tea 37, m.kg other teas such as oolong, scented, compressed , White tea and other teas. The main importers of Chinese tea are Russia, Morocoo, Hong Kong, Poland, Japan, France, USA, Mauritiana, Tunisia, Libya, and Paksitan.

The tea producing areas of these two countries are the northernmost part of the world where tea is grown. This region, lying between the main Caucasian range and the Black sea covers around 500 km long. Tea was first planted in 1885 near Batumi and by 1915, the number of gardens increased to 170, covering an area of 1000 ha. By 1932 there were 19 State tea farms and 9 factories and the area increased to 25,500 ha. In 1993, Georgia established tea in about 56000 ha and the 70 factories produce 75 million kg of tea annually. In present day Russia, there are only 1600 ha under tea producing 2 million kg. The tea areas of Russia and Georgia have almost the same features. There are plans to extend the area under tea in Russia, in the Krasnodar territory, Dagestan, Northern Osetia and Adygeya.

Though tea seeds were introduced in to Indonesia as early on 1684, sucessful commercial planting started only in the 1900. At present tea is grown in west, central and east Java, north Sumatera, Jambi, south Sumatera, Bengkulu, Lambpung and south Sulawesi. The plantations are owned by government, private companies and small holdings. The area under is approximately 160,000 ha. Most tea is grown at an altitude of 300 m the low land tea grown between 400-800 m is under shade. The production has been steadily increasing and currently the country produces around 169 million kg tea. The country exports a little more than 100 million kg of tea. Indonesia produces mostly orthodox type of black tea and CTC processing started only in 1980. Research on tea is being carried out by the Indonesia tea and Cinchona Research Institute at Gamburg.

Planting of tea started in 1900 when the government imported tea seedlings from Kangra valley, in Himachal Pradesh in India and planted in Lahizan. At present tea is grown in about 35000 ha by 42000 small growers. Tea is cultivated in the regions of Rasht, Lahizan, Lanagroud, Rudasar and Tunekabun which are located in the northern part of the country near the Caspian sea. While the country produces 62 million kg it also imports 10 million kg of tea, the domestic consumption is around 70 million kg. The general Directorate of Tea Research is mainly responsible for conducting research on tea is Iran.

The Buddhist priest Eisai brought tea seeds from China in 1211 AD and encouraged people to cultivate tea. At present tea is cultivated in 52,700 ha by 307,300 farmers. Nearly 80% of the tea is of clonal plants, the most popular clone being Yabukita. Frost is a major problem for the tea in Japan and large fans are installed in tea fields to produce warm air currents and reduce the damagee due to frost. The major tea growing prefectures are Shikuoka and Kagoshima, follow by Mie, Saitama, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Kyoto, Fuknoka, Nara and Ibaraki. Research on tea is being carried out by the National Institute for Vegetables, Ornamental plants and tea.

Even before First World War the European settlers established tea in Limuru, Kerichu, Nandi, Kaimosi and Sotik regions. There has been a continuous increase in the area, production and productivity of tea, mainly due to the favourable economic policies and political climate. Kenya has achieved a high productivity of 2197 kg /ha. The area under tea expanded mainly due to planting in the small holder sector. The small holders have more than 79000 ha whereas the estate sector has nearly 32,400 ha. It is estimated that the total area under tea in Kenya is 122236 ha with an annual production of 236.29 million kg. The tea areas are located mainly in the highlands in regions east and west of Rift valley on the foot hills of Abardares and Mt.Kenya on the east Rift valley ( in Nyeri, Muranga, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Embu, Meru, Nyambene, Tharaka District) and Mau, Nandi, Kisii and Kakamega Hills in the west of Rift valley, covering Kericho, Bomet, Nyamira, Kisii, Nandi, Kakamega, Vihiga, Trans Nzoia, Elgeyo Marakwet District. The tea development activities are controlled by the Kenyan Tea Development authority. Research on tea is being carried out by the Tea Research Foundation of Kenya at Kericho.

In Africa tea was first commercially grown in Malawi. The major tea plantation areas are in Mulanje and Thyolo. Currently, tea is grown over an area of 18,800 ha and annual production is approximately 42 million kg. Productivity is around 2200 kg /ha. The small holder sector is gaining importance and the productivity of this sector is almost on par with that of the Kenyan small holders. The small holdings account for 2500 ha and there are about 5000 small growers, the average size of the farm being less than 0.5 ha. This sector represents about 13% of the total tea area. Among the African tea growing countries, Malawi has more of pest and disease problems. UK is the main importer of Malawi tea, followed by Pakistan and Netherlands. Research on tea is being carried out by the Tea Research Foundation (Central Africa) in Mulanje.

The industry started in 1920 suffered heavily due to civil war. The industry had three areas viz Milanje, Tacunae and Gurue. Currently, 2000 ha is under tea, producing about 1.8 million kg. Most of the tea is exported to UK and Netherlands.

Tea was planted on a commercial scale in 1867, and it accounts for 12% of the total cultivated area. Tea is a major foreign exchange earn for Sri Lanka, the country being the biggest exporter of tea in the world. Nearly 62% of the income from Agric exports is through the sale of tea. The area under tea had been expanding and currently approximate of 187,500 ha are planted with the clones. It may be mentioned that an extensive replanting programme was started in 1959 and today the area replanted with clones is approximately 50,000 ha. The tea growing regions extend from almost sea level to an elevation of 200 m above mean sea level. The major tea growing regions are Ratnapura, Kegatte and Gall in the low country (1200m). The tea produced in the different elevations has their own distinctive characters. Sri Lanka produces nearly 306 million kg of black tea, almost all of which is of the orthodox type. Production in the small holder section accounts for about 60% the remaining part comes from the estate sector. The productivity of the small holdings is higher at 2216 made tea kg/ha while in the estate sector it is only 1151 kg made tea/ha. Sri Lanka exports 288 million kg accounting for 95% of the production. The destinations of export are Russia, UAE, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UK, Libya the Netherlands, Japan, Australia and a number of other countries. In small tea holdings tea fields are intercropped with other cash crops such as pepper, coffee, clone rubber coconut and fruit crops. Research on tea is being carried out by the Tea Research Institute at Talawakalle.

The tea areas in South Africa are situated below 25oS latitude, in northern Transvaal, Natal, Zululand and Transeki regions. Elevation of the tea areas ranges from 600 to 1000 m. As in other African countries the terrain of the land is more or less flat. Rainfall in the tea growing regions varies from 1000 to 1500 mm with a pronounced dry spell between May and early August. The temperature regimes show wide variation with the maximum temperature varying from 20 to 27oC and the minimum temperature ranging between 8 and 17oC. Crop distribution is quite uneven. The other tea growing countries in Africa are Barundi (8200 ha, 7.12 m.kg), Rwanda (11800 ha, 14.39 m.kg), Ethiopia (2300 ha, 4.5 m.kg), Zaire (900 ha, 2.5 m.kg), Cameroon (1600 ha, 4 million kg) and Mauritius (670 ha, 1.31 million kg).

Tea was introduced in to Taiwan about 200 years ago by unmigrants from the Fukien province of PR China. At present tea is grown in 21,350 ha with an annual production of 24.5 million kg. The country imports about 8 million kg of tea, mostly black and jasmine tea. There has been an increasing demand for the partially fermented teas. The country also exports little more than 3 million kg tea. The main tea growing regions are Taipei, Taoyuan, Sinchu, Mioali, Nantou, Chiayi and Taitung. The major varieties grown in the island are chinsin oolong, chuasin dapar and TTES No.12. Research on tea is mainly carried out by the Taiwan Tea Experimental Station at Taoyuan.

This country has a small area of 6400 ha under tea, mostly in the mountain slopes, ranging from 700-1300 m above mean sea level. The green leaf is plucked at long intervals and pickled. This is called ‘Miang’ and is consumed solely in the northern part of the country. There are primary and semi-fermented green tea factories. The secondary green factories mostly located in the Chiang Mai province reprocess them and sell at Bangkok. Research on tea is being carried out by the Department of Agriculture in the Experimental stations in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Tak provinces.

Tea cultivation started rather recently by about 1924. At present the crop is cultivated in the north eastern region (Rize) near the Black Sea and near the Georgian border. Turkey is a large producer of black tea (8% of world production) and annual production exceeds 170 million kg. Tea is grown mainly by the small tea grower having an average area of 0.42 ha. There are about 202,000 small holders; cultivating tea in a total 76,600 ha. The average per capita tea consumption in the country is very high at 2.18 kg/year which works out to 140 million kg. The developmental work relating to tea is handled by the ‘Caykur’, the Turkish state Tea Board in Rize.

Tea is reported to have been planted in Tanzania, around 1920 by Germans in Usambara Mountains. At present tea is grown in East and West Usambara (800 – 1400m), Mufindi, Lupende (1600 – 1900 m) and Tukuyu (900-2000m). There has been no significant increase in the area under tea and since 1980 there had been stagnation in production and productivity. At present, Tanzania has 21212 ha under tea and the annual production is 24 million kg.

Tea cultivation started in the 1920s, gathered momentum in the 1960s. The industry suffered a set back in the 1970s as the expatriates who were instrumental in planting and managing the tea estates had to leave the country. Subsequent to the change of government in the 1980s the tea estates were given back to the expatriates and many of the abandoned tea gardens have been reclaimed. As on 1995, there were 11,070 small holders with 9441 ha, this forms 46% of the total tea area. Since then the area under tea had expanded and at present it is around 20,000 hectares. The country produces about 30 million kg of tea. Tea is planted in Mengo, Toro, Mityana, Masaka, Ankole, Kigezi and Bunyoro districts. The tea areas are situated on either side of the equator to the north and west of Lake Victoria. The average elevation of the tea estates is around 1300 m.

Tea was first planted in Zimbabwe in 1927. The tea areas are located at Honde Valley and Chipinge. Zimbabwe has about 6800 ha under tea, producing 22.50 million kg of black tea annually. There is good internal demand for tea and the exports fluctuate between 65 and 80%, the major export destination being the United Kingdom.

Planting of tea started very late in Zambia. Small scale planting started in 1965. Plantations are in Kawambwa. The area under tea is approximately 500 ha and annual production is around 6.5 million kg.

In India, tea was first introduced by Mr. Robert Kyd during 1780 in the northern region of the sub-continent and in the southern region by Dr. Christie during 1832. However commencement of large scale planting was done in north India during 1983 while in south India it was during 1839. In India, tea cultivation is concentrated in two widely separated traditional regions in the north east and south India. In addition to Assam, West Bengal and Tripura in North-east, tea has commercialized certain pockets of Himachal Pradesh and Utharanchal. Efforts are being taken to commercialise tea in non traditional areas of Arrunachal Pradesh, Meghalalya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Sikkim, Orissa and Tripura. Tea in south India will be elaborated else where. At present 567000 ha land is under tea cultivation in India. India is contributing about 27% of the world’s tea demand interms of domestic and international requirements.India produced 979 million kg of tea during the year 2009 and the record production of 989.4 million kg was achieved in the year 2007.