Guwahati, Jan 29: Glaring mismatches in tea import data published by different agencies, including government watchdogs, have sparked concerns over the control and monitoring mechanism, ringing alarm bells in the industry.

There had been an unprecedented spike in the import of lower-quality tea from countries like Kenya and Nepal that is poised to offset the gains made by Indian producers in price realisation triggered by a dip in production and government initiatives like the cent percent dust auction and stricter FSSAI compliance.

According to the Tea Board, a total of 16.47 million kilograms of tea was imported between January and October in 2024, of which around 1.63 million kg is from Kenya and 13.01 million kg from Nepal. The average price of the imported tea was Rs 165.

But the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics data says a total of 33.8 million kg of tea was imported during the same period, of which 11.53 million kg was from Kenya. The average price of the imported teas was Rs 156 per kg.

Data published by Kenya's Tea Board, however, says 13.7 million kg of tea was exported to India, which was an increase of 288 percent over the previous year. Thus the actual import quantity is a mystery.

"The recent discovery of the huge quantities of imports of teas, all of which are either filtering into the domestic market illegally or are being exported as pure Indian teas, goes to show the chaos and lack of coordination in the monitoring of tea imports by various government bodies," industry sources said.

"The FSSAI has also brushed aside its role in monitoring imports as it says it doesn't fall under its purview. It's a 'free for all' kind of a situation that is damaging the interests of tea producers and small tea growers, and they have lost heavily in the last quarter of 2024, which is evident from the collapse of tea prices from October onwards," they added.

Most of the imported tea is of inferior quality and meant for either blending or re-export, which is hitting the Assam tea brand. Some teas from Kenya are priced less than Rs 100 per kg and are alleged to be old season tea.

"If this is not stopped immediately, all the good initiatives of the Commerce Ministry in helping boost the prices of teas for producers and small growers will get negated. The Tea Board of India has to clamp down hard on the exporters passing off foreign teas as Indian teas," the sources said.

Nepal's Mechi Customs office also witnessed a 55.70 percent rise in the export of tea in the last six months of that country's financial year, which has been largely attributed to the decline in tea production in India.

India's Tea Board has been customarily publishing 'estimate' and 'provisional' data, which are being modified even a year later, a system that the industry stakeholders say should be upgraded.

Tea production in India (up to November) was down by over 50 million kg in 2024, and Assam alone accounted for a crop loss of over 20 million kg. The dip in production saw the prices go up by Rs 52 till October 2024. However, post October, the prices at auction began to drop again.

By

Rituraj Borthakur