ndia is one of the largest black tea producing country of the world. The major states which account for 95% of total production are West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu & Kerala; remaining 5% is covered by 12 states. For managing the future prospect & export of this commodity Tea Board was formed which traces its existence from year 1903 when Indian Tea Cess Bill was passed to access the tea export. The present tea board is an autonomous body working under the control of Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India set up as a statutory body on 1stApril, 1954 as per provision under Section (4) of Tea Act 1953. It is an apex body which looks after the overall interests of the tea industry. It has succeeded the Central Tea Board (CTB) & the Indian Tea Licensing Committee (ITLC) which functioned under the Central Tea Board Act, 1949 & Indian Tea Control Act 1938, respectively.

The present study encompasses various areas including the export-import of tea from the year 2005-06 to 2015-16 & direction of export of tea. The destination of export of tea from India to top 5 countries in the studied period is also ascertained. It has been seen that India is among the top tea exporting country. The import of the country is also increasing at a decreasing rate. The requisite of different type of tea & brand demand is also a main problem that has led an increase in import demand of tea also. China is the largest seller of tea at global market, while Iran is the largest purchaser of India's black tea. Government policies & institution plays an important role in enhancing the export of tea.

Following are the objective of the present study: 1. To study the trend of export of agro-processed food products in India. 2. To study the trend of export-import of tea in the given time period in India. 3. To analyze the direction of India's tea export. 4. To ascertain the top tea exporting country of the world. 5. To provide some suggestive measures for improvement of India's tea export.

Shinoj P et al (2008) examine the comparative advantage of India in agricultural export vis-a-vis Asia in the post reform era. From 1991 to 2004, ten major agricultural commodities group are studied. India has been able to maintain comparative advantage in commodities like cashew and oil meals, but tea, coffee, spices, marine products have been negatively affected. Govindasamy (1993) in his study revealed the effect of drought on tea in the recent years. It was found that tea is highly water-consuming product & drought has effected its production negatively.

Another study done by M. R. Chaudhary (1978) had found the concentration of tea production in specific area in the country. It has also shown that the area in which tea s sown is hilly & prone to good monsoon. North-east is huge producer of tea in India & south-India is producing coffee. Banerjee (2008) given a road map for the prospects of tea industry in India. The demand is unending & supply is somehow proportionately decreasing. Therefore more concentration is to be made over production that will boost export too.

IV.

The study is highly based on secondary data. The information is taken from the websites of ministry of commerce, tea board, International trade centre & DGCI&S Kolkata. Data of 10 years is taken for trend & 5 year is taken for direction, top exporting nations, etc. These data are compiled in the form of table, line graph, area charts, bar graphs, etc. Statistical tools like AGR, mean, Karl Pearson's coefficient correlation, standard deviation, percentage, etc. are used for analyzing the data. The study is done in the year 2016 hence data up to that year is mentioned.

The population of the country & problems related to food had led a huge controversy over the topic of export of food products. But it is found that the products which are exported were either excess or different in variety which is demanded within the country. The export of marine products, buffalo meats basmati rice, tea, etc. was the main among them. Table 1 is showing clearly the trend of such agro-processed products from the recent past: Source: Table 3 Source: Table 3 Table 3 shows the export-import trend of tea in India in last 10 years. It has been seen that the import of tea is irregular in nature due to demand of certain quality of tea. There is huge difference between the export & import of tea in every year. The trade balance of tea is always favorable i.e. the export is always higher than import of tea. Table 6 shows the top 10 tea exporting nations of the world. Figure 4 is a graphical representation of the same in various years. It has been analyzed that the growth of export in China was steady, while in India it was irregular, sometimes negative too. Sri Lanka headed this table till 2014 with more than 20% of world's total export. In the year 2015 this crown was taken by China with 4.62% more than Sri Lanka. Only 4 (China, Sri Lanka, Kenya & India) out of ten are sharing 63.48% of the world's total export in 2015. India is sharing nearly 10.21% of world's export itself in 2015. Some countries are showing negative CAGR including India (-0.059) while China (0.09), UAE (0.22), Poland (0.06) & USA (0.1) are showing positive growth rate.

Following measures must be taken by the policy makers & exporters to increase the export of tea: 1. Using more land for cultivation of tea & advanced technique for reduction in wastage. 2. Government must support exporters by providing them subsidies to enhance the export of tea. 3. Cultivation of green tea must be promoted which has huge demand in world market. 4. Tea tasters must be appropriately appointed & standardized grading & packaging system be adopted. 5. Tea boards must perform seminars, conferences, conclaves, workshops, etc. for the owners of farms, exporters, workers, farmers & processors of tea.

V.

The study is related with the export of agro processed foods especially tea, its trend, direction, world's export & measures to enhance export. The study reveals the position of India's tea export in world market. It has been found that Iran, Russia, UK, USA & UAE are the major importers of tea from India; hence they must be focused more. Meanwhile, domestic demand of this product is also increasing due to increase in population & other related factors. The production of tea must also be increased by adopting various methods. The requirement of green tea is more in western countries; hence this product line must be targeted. There is a huge difference in export of tea from India & other top nations. This gap could only be reduced by way of government intervention & market analysis. Due to individual researcher's constraint & resource limitation some parts like domestic production & sales, state-wise trend, etc. is not mentioned & opened for next research.