1,000 Tons of Tea Imported in 4 Months

Close to 1,000 tons of black tea worth nearly 149.85 billion rials ($4.61 million) were imported into Iran during the fourth month of the Iranian calendar (June 22-July 22), the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration announced.

The imports were mainly made from India, the UAE, Sri Lanka and Kenya, Young Journalists Club reported.

“Iran’s domestic tea production has registered a 73% increase so far in the current Iranian year (started March 21), compared with the corresponding period of last year, leading to a 12% decline in imports,” Mohammad Vali Rouzbehan, the head of Tea Organization of Iran, said in May.

“Last year, tea production grew by 60% [compared with the year before], marking a record high in the last seven years and the upward trend will continue in the coming years,” he added.

Tea is cultivated in Iran’s northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran where 50,000 families earn their living from tea farming on more than 25,000 hectares of fields.