Despite a marginal rise in tea production, the Terai tea industry continues to face severe financial and operational stress due to erratic weather, pest infestation, falling auction prices and delayed subsidies, said Debajyoti Mallik, Chairman of the Terai Branch of the Indian Tea Association (TBITA).
The tea industry in Assam and West Bengal is grappling with a severe greenfly infestation, which has emerged as a major agronomic threat over the past two years, significantly impacting tea yield and quality.
In a shocking incident that has sent ripples across the tea industry, Nilanjan Bhadra, senior assistant manager and division in-charge of Jayantika Tea Estate in Darjeeling, was brutally murdered in broad daylight on Thursday.
The TBITA secretary Rana Dey echoed these concerns, emphasising the need for strategic interventions to address the mounting challenges.
The Indian Tea Association (ITA) has presented a comprehensive white paper on the challenges and opportunities in the Darjeeling tea industry to the minister-in-charge of labour, law & judicial departments.
The Terai Indian Planters’ Association (TIPA) has expressed its gratitude to Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal for his commitment to resolving key issues faced by the tea industry.
As the tea industry in Bengal and Assam grapples with a production crisis due to climate change, the Tea Research Association (TRA) has introduced the first climate-smart tea seed stock, TSS-2, to combat the adverse effects of rising temperatures.
According to Mr Dasgupta, the management of the Mujnai Tea Estate has also not turned up yet despite several reminders.
Mr Kamakhya Tasa, MP, thanked the industry for paying bonus at higher rates in spite of difficult times.
The industry has been facing a crisis due to oversupply in global tea production.
