MUMBAI - India's tea production in 2019 rose 3.8% from a year earlier to a record 1389.70 million kg, helped by higher output from top-producing state Assam, the state-run Tea Board said on Tuesday.

Assam produced 715.79 million kg of tea in 2019, up 3.5% from a year earlier, the board said in a statement.

India, the world's second-biggest tea producer, exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) grade mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, with the orthodox variety shipped to Iraq, Iran and Russia.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav, editing by Louise Heavens) ((rajendra.jadhav@thomsonreuters.com; +91-22-68414378 ; Reuters Messaging: rajendra.jadhav.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))