El Niño-linked dry spell drags Kerala tea output down 2%

Kerala's tea sector has recorded a decline in output as El Niño disrupts rainfall patterns across the State, with plantation authorities warning that a continuation of low rainfall and drought-like conditions will keep weighing on yields.

Data compiled by the Tea Research Foundation of the United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI) shows that production over the eight months from January to August stood at 30.624 million kg, down from 31.274 million kg in the same period a year earlier — a fall of about 2%.

Wayanad emerged as the worst-affected district. It logged a 53% rainfall deficit through mid-September, alongside an 8.11% drop in tea production between January and August. Average output there slid from 1,233 kg per hectare to 1,133 kg per hectare, a loss of 100 kg per hectare.

Central Travancore also saw a decline, with average production falling 3.8% from 1,008 kg per hectare to 970 kg per hectare. In the Peerumade hills, yields eased from 1,091 kg per hectare to 1,069 kg per hectare.

Munnar ran against the trend with a marginal gain, rising from 1,558 kg per hectare to 1,578 kg per hectare.

One estate in Wagamon posted stronger growth. Penshurst Estate recorded a 4.4% increase in output, with productivity climbing from 2,149 kg per hectare to 2,243 kg per hectare — a gain of 94 kg. Estate manager Joshiba Joseph confirmed the figures.

The strain on the sector carries wider consequences. Thousands of people depend, directly and indirectly, on income from tea, and a further fall in production due to climate distress would severely affect estate operations, a local industry stakeholder said.

Conditions are similarly difficult outside Kerala. In the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, drought led to an 11.8% decline in yield, with average output sliding from 2,315 kg per hectare in 2023 to 2,042 kg per hectare in 2025, according to UPASI.