Nature’s wrath has wreaked havoc on the tea sector in Assam and West Bengal, which accounts for over 81% of the nation’s total tea production. The record rainfall and following floods have seriously impacted the region’s tea industry.
In June, Assam had a 27% decrease in tea production compared to the previous year. Out of the 27, the Brahmaputra valley saw an 11% decrease, while the Barak valley saw a 16% decrease.
According to Dipanjal Deka, secretary of the Assam branch of the Tea Association of India, “All the clones of our crops here are neither drought-resistant nor flood-resistant, so the tea gardens in the region had to bear the brunt of the floods.” Further, Deka added, “These losses are just the initial records. We will be able to assess the actual damage after 15 to 20 days once the actual damage to the crops is figured out.”
On the other side, tea production in the Dooars-Terai tea gardens in neighbouring West Bengal fell by 40% in June, with 21% of production occurring in the Dooars and 19% in the Terai region of the Jalpaiguri division. The decrease in production could be linked to the 1.5-degree decrease in maximum temperatures, which led to fewer average sunlight hours. The temperature drop in June of this year extended the diurnal temperature differences.
Additionally, the cost of CTC tea has decreased by 15% in May. The condition of the tea business for the current season was particularly precarious due to a drop in exports, pesticide attacks, and an increase in daily salaries of the labourers in the West Bengal’s tea gardens by Rs 30.