Building BusinessServices

Section 14

Tea

India’s exports: 988.13 US$ million · 2025-26 (provisional)

HS codes
1
top markets
5

How to start

  1. Get an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT online; it is free and linked to your PAN.
  2. Register with the Tea Board and get your RCMC (Registration-cum-Membership Certificate) through the DGFT e-RCMC system.
  3. Buy at Tea Board auction centres or direct from estates, and blend and pack to the buyer’s taste profile.
  4. Specialty and GI teas (Darjeeling, Assam, Nilgiri) fetch higher prices in small packs; register the GI logo use where applicable.

Top buyer countries

  1. United Arab Emirates184.68 US$ million · 2025-26
  2. Iraq104.91 US$ million · 2025-26
  3. Russia65.4 US$ million · 2025-26
  4. United States53.39 US$ million · 2025-26
  5. Iran52.16 US$ million · 2025-26

Certificates and registrations

  • Tea Board exporter registration (RCMC)
  • FSSAI licence
  • Organic certification under NPOP if you sell organic tea

Watch out for

  • West Asian markets (Iraq, Iran) depend on payment channels that can freeze during sanctions or conflict.
  • Pesticide residue limits in the EU are strict; get estate spray records.

Businesses in the encyclopedia

Tea Blending and Packing Unit →Green Tea Processing Unit →Organic Green and Herbal Tea Cultivation →Masala Tea (Chai Masala) Unit →

Sources (3)
  1. TradeStat, Department of Commerce — Export: Principal Commodity-wise, April–March 2026 (provisional), US$ million — row "A1, TEA"
  2. TradeStat (Export Import Data Bank), Department of Commerce — Commodity-wise all countries export, HS 0902, 2025-26, US$ million · 2025-26
  3. HBP Appendix 2T — List of EPCs / Commodity Boards (DGFT), via research/export-import.json · 2023