The West Asia war has disrupted tea exports in the first three months of 2026 as traders navigate complex logistical challenges, data shared by trade body Indian Tea Association (ITA) showed.
The deceleration came a year after India reported the highest tea exports ever in 2025. Exports were down by 21 per cent between January and March to 54.69 million kg, lower than 69.24 million kg in the same period of 2025. Lower shipments were reported both from south and north India.
War-ridden West Asia has been the largest export destination for Indian teas traditionally and the year 2025 was no different. Approximately 46 per cent of India’s tea exports are concentrated in key markets such as Iraq, the UAE, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt.
Ongoing geopolitical tensions in these regions, coupled with disruptions in major shipping routes, continue to pose significant risks to India’s export competitiveness through higher insurance premium and increased currency volatility, an ITA report said.
ITA secretary general Arijit Raha observed that shipments are increasingly being routed through longer routes, resulting in substantially higher freight rates. Shipping lines have also begun imposing emergency fuel surcharges (EFS) on cargo loaded from India to various destinations (even outside of the war zone), further escalating export logistics costs.
“However, the good news is that there is no dearth of latent demand for teas in the afflicted market. But the trade diversion remains a concern,” Raha added. The ITA data captured only the first month of the Iran war which started from February 28.
India’s tea exports reached a landmark 280.40 million kg in 2025, with an export value of ₹8,488.43 crore — the highest in recent years.
The ITA report also noted that climatic condition hit production during the first three months with north Indian (Assam and Bengal) production down by 12.1 per cent. However, Raha said production has since picked up from April onwards.
Lower production triggered better prices for teas at the auction which reported a 6.62 per cent gain to ₹183.56 a kg on average between January-March. However, the gains in realization remain insufficient to adequately absorb the sharp escalation in input and operating costs, ITA claimed.
