Battered Tea industry further hit by heavy rainfall: Tea Association of India

New Delhi, July 12 (KNN) Heavy rains and consequent flooding have severely impacted the tea plantation industry in Assam and North Bengal.

The Tea Association of India, in a statement, said, "The heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding in Assam and the northern part of West Bengal have affected the tea plantation sector, which is already facing severe problems in the current season."

Assam and north Bengal’s tea industry together contribute around 80 percent of India's total production.

The tea industry was already facing a crisis as the total output of the crop production from Assam and West Bengal was projected to have declined in the range of 11–21 per cent year-on-year in the month of June.

"The drop in the production is because of the lowering of the average maximum temperature by 1.50C in June 2022, resulting in lower average sunshine hours to the extent that some of the regions witnessed no sunshine for a total of 11 days out of 30 days in June 2022," the statement added.

Apart from the output loss, the tea industry has recently been hit hard by a rise in wages of Rs 30 per day in north Bengal. After north Bengal,the rise on wages is on cards in Assam.

Adding to the industry's anguishes, the tea prices in the month of May in the Brahmaputra Valley, Barak Valley, Dooars, and Terai regions have dropped by 15 percent.

India’s tea industry for several years now has been struggling with issues like rising input costs, relatively stagnant consumption, and subdued prices. The tea business is cost-intensive, where 60-70 percent of the total investment is fixed costs.

India's tea sector employs around 1.2 million workers and contributes 23 percent of the global output.   (KNN Bureau)