Tata Consumer, McLeod Russel India: Tea stocks trade mixed; data show tea production falls in August 2025

Production volumes in Assam during August 2025 declined marginally to 103.52 million kilogrammes as compared to 104.46 million kilogrammes, according to the data.

In West Bengal, production dipped to 45.90 million kilogrammes in August 2025, from 56.08 million kilogrammes seen in the similar previous month of 2024.

Taking Assam and West Bengal together, tea production in North India during August 2025 declined to 153.99 million kilogrammes as compared to 166.15 million kilogrammes in the previous month of 2024.

In South India, total production during August 2025 declined to 16.13 million kilogrammes, as against 18.30 million kilogrammes in August 2024.

Category-wise, production of the CTC variety in North India declined to 135.59 million kilogrammes in August 2025, as against 150.76 million kilogrammes in the same month of 2024, according to the data.

In South India, production of CTC tea fell to 13.13 million kilogrammes in August 2025, as compared to 15.41 million kilogrammes in the previous similar month.

Orthodox variety production in August 2025 in the country stood higher at 19.22 million kilogrammes as against 15.81 million kilogrammes in the same month of 2024, according to the data.

Here is how tea stocks are faring

At the time of writing this report, Tata Consumer Products (TCPL) shares were trading 1% lower at ₹1,116.20 apiece on the NSE, while McLeod Russel India was trading over 3% higher at ₹53.32. Indong Tea Company was trading around 5% higher at ₹14.21 on the BSE.

Jay Shree Tea and Industries was trading 1.73% lower at ₹94.73 on the NSE.

India's tea industry

India is the second largest tea producer in the world after China. However, due to specific soil and climatic conditions, its growth has remained restricted to select regions. The major tea-producing states include Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Additionally, tea is cultivated on a smaller scale in Karnataka, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Bihar, and Odisha.

"The Indian tea industry has a legacy spanning over 170 years. In 1823, Robert Bruce discovered wild tea plants in the Upper Brahmaputra Valley, and the first batch of Indian tea from Assam was exported to the United Kingdom for public sale in 1838. By the 1850s and 1860s, tea cultivation expanded to other parts of India, according to an article in Indusfood.

In 2024, India secured the third position in global tea exports, surpassing Sri Lanka by exporting 254.7 million kg (mkg) of tea, an increase from 231.69 mkg in 2023. The surge in exports was driven by strong demand from the UAE, Iraq, and Russia. Export earnings in 2024 rose to ₹71.11 billion, compared to ₹61.6 billion in the previous year.

According to the International Tea Committee Bulletin for 2024, India ranked as the third-largest tea exporter, following Kenya and China, the article added.