印度茶叶经济、文化和节庆

由于印度的茶叶产量达到世界总产量的27%,因此其在茶叶生产、消费和出口都处于世界领先地位。茶产业也许是近150年以来印度唯一能保持领导地位的产业。尽管人均消费低,但印度茶叶国内消费几乎占总产量的3/4,而且以年增长2.7%的速度在发展。茶叶仍然是主要的外汇收入来源,每年约184.7亿印度卢比。然而,近几年来这个15亿美元的产业却处于衰退之中。本文讨论了造成其衰退的原因及挽救措施。印度对茶叶的研发活动主要集中在4个不同组织,其中托克莱试验站已经培育出许多改良茶树品种:30个TV无性系,150个在试无性系和14个双无性系。本文同时介绍了印度的茶文化和产茶社团的的节庆活动。

Tea in India: Economy, Culture and Festivals

In all aspects of tea, production, consumption and export, India has emerged to be the world leader, mainly because it accounts for 27% of global production. It is perhaps the only industry where India has retained its leadership over the last 150 years. Tea is the major beverage in the country. In spite of low per capita consumption, almost three fourth of the total produce accounts for the domestic consumption and the annual consumption is increasing at the rate of 2.7%. Tea industry continues to be an important foreign exchange earner with a net foreign exchange earning of around Rs. 1847 crores annually. However, for last couple years, this $1.5 billion industry of India is under recession. The causes of such recession in this industry are discussed and some remedial measures are suggested. R&D activity on this crop, in India, is mainly concentrated in four different organizations of which, Tocklai Experimental Station has so far evolved many improved tea cultivars 30 TV (Tocklai Vegetative) clones, 150 garden senies clone and 14 biclonal seed stocks. The tea drinking culture of Indian, as well as, the festivals of the tea growing community are also discussed in this investigation. This article is prepared with the objective of giving its reader an overview of the Indian Tea Industry.