Sri Lanka and Iran’s Barter Trade Agreement can influence India’s Tea Export

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Sri Lanka and Iran’s Barter Trade Agreement can influence India’s Tea Export
14 Jan 2022
5 min read

News Synopsis

Sri Lanka has entered into a barter trade agreement with Iran to pay off the oil debt of the country. This agreement can affect India’s tea export. India’s tea export to Iran halved during the pre-pandemic period in 2019 because of the payment problems that can get even worse this year after this agreement. 

India is one of the biggest suppliers of orthodox teas to Iran, which buys orthodox teas only for domestic consumption. But now, Sri Lanka is planning to send both orthodox teas and whole leaf teas as payment for its oil debt. 

India exported about 53 million kilograms of tea to Iran in 2019. Tea exports have kept on falling ever since with 29 million kg in 2020 and 21 million kg in the first ten months of 2021 due to the payment crises.

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