Northeast small tea growers flag impact of massive imports

Small tea growers in India face challenges due to increased tea imports, impacting prices and livelihoods, urging regulatory changes.

GUWAHATI

A jump in tea imports from African and Asian countries coupled with the Tea Board’s directive on early closure of tea production across North India has impacted the small-scale planters, an association of small tea growers has said.

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In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (January 24, 2025), the North East Confederation of Small Tea Growers Association (NECSTGA) said the Centre needs to save the 200-year-old Indian tea industry, specifically more than 2 lakh small tea growers in the country’s northeastern part who contribute 54% of teas produced in the region.

“The Tea Board of India directed us to stop harvesting tea leaves from December 1, 2024, to maintain equilibrium in the demand-supply mismatch. But we have noticed a huge jump in tea imports, which defeats the Tea Board’s intention to control the oversupply of tea in North India,” NECSTGA secretary general Binod Buragohain said.

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North India covers teas produced in the northeastern States, West Bengal, Bihar, and other tea-growing areas of northern India.