Import of black tea up 24% year-on-year in January-September period SECTIONS Share Synopsis "The industry feels the surge in import has happened mainly due to higher volumes of tea from Nepal entering India. However, we need to have clarity on the end-use of these teas,” Indian Tea Association chairman Vivek Goenka told ET. Reuters India produced 1,032 million kg of teas in the January-October period this year. Kolkata: Import of cheap black tea increased 24% year-on-year in the first nine months of this year to 16.03 million kg, according to the Tea Board of India data, although India is the largest producer of black tea in the world. The industry is worried about the end-use of this imported cheap tea since there is no clarity on whether this tea has been imported for re-exports.