<h1>Trade disruption risk from Strait closure threatens Indian tea exports and underscores maritime chokepoint vulnerability.</h1> Escalating tensions in West Asia threaten India's tea exports by imperilling shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime chokepoint for consignments to Gulf markets. A substantial share of Indian tea shipments to the Persian Gulf - notably consignments to the UAE, Iran and Iraq - transit this route, making export flows sensitive to any closure or suspension of passage. The Tea Association of India emphasises that recent export growth, driven by orthodox teas from Assam, is concentrated in markets served via the strait, increasing sectoral exposure to disruption.