India's May tea output drops 9.5 per cent year-on-year: Board

India's tea production in May dropped 9.5 per cent from a year earlier to 111.82 million kg as plucking fell in the top producing north-eastern state Assam, the state-run Tea Board said in a statement on Monday.

Assam's May production dropped 14.3 per cent to 53.60 million kg, the board said.

India, the world's second-biggest tea producer, exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) grade mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK, and the orthodox variety to Iraq, Iran and Russia.