Stating that excellent leaves, in terms of quality, were noticed in the tea bushes last December but they could not be plucked due to Tea Board’s directive, the association said it was a ‘national loss’, not just a loss for the small tea growers.“Restricting production only in North India will not help in overcoming demand-supply mismatch, if any. Moreover, Tea Board has no official statistics to prove that there is an oversupply of tea in India. We have heard that the imported teas are often re-blended and re-exported as Indian teas, which has severely impacted the brand image, value, and demand of Indian teas especially those from Northeast India in the global market,” the association said.Referring to reports which indicated that 119 million kgs of old teas are lying at the Mombasa auction centre and awaiting export to India, the association warned that if such unregulated import continues, it would deal a devastating blow to the small tea growers of the Northeast and dismantle the rural economy of the region, particularly in Assam. According to the association, the tea industry, which has a legacy of over 200 years, is already grappling with low green leaf price realisation, declining demand, rising input costs, and compliance challenges regarding maximum residue limits.
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