Kathmandu, June 15: More than four dozen orthodox tea producers in Nepal have shut down their factories starting Monday, as India’s stringent quality-testing procedures have disrupted the smooth export of one of Nepal’s key export commodities.
Producers of CTC tea have also announced that they will shut down their factories starting Wednesday for the same reason.
More than 90 per cent of Nepal’s orthodox tea is exported to India, while around 60 per cent of the CTC tea produced in the country is sold in the Indian market, according to associations representing tea factory owners.
The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) implemented by the Tea Board of India on May 1 has made quality testing mandatory for every consignment of tea exported from Nepal. Nepal tea factory owners say the new system has significantly increased business risks, as it takes more than two weeks to receive test reports, tea cannot be sold until the reports are issued, and consignments that fail the test must either be destroyed or returned. “Starting Monday, we have shut down our factories,” Dilaram Shrestha, President of the Suryodaya Orthodox Tea Producers’ Association, told.(PTI)
“There are 53 tea factories affiliated with our organisation, and all of them have now been closed.” Most orthodox tea producers in Nepal are members of the association. “Large quantities of processed tea destined for the Indian market have remained unsold. Test samples are being collected, but reports are often delayed for months. As a result, tea entrepreneurs and factories have been severely affected,” the association said in a statement. “We would like to inform all tea farmers and stakeholders of this situation and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience that may result from disruptions to tea processing and green-leaf procurement activities.” (IANS)
