Guwahati: The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce has urged the Centre to ensure a level playing field for India’s tea sector amid growing competition from South Asian and Southeast Asian countries, including Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
The recommendations were presented in the Committee’s 194th report, titled ‘Performance Evaluation and Review of Some Commodity Boards’, during the recently concluded Parliament session.
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India, the world’s second-largest tea grower by area and the fourth-largest exporter, is under increasing pressure from rising imports.
The Committee noted that many tea-exporting countries offer subsidies and export incentives, making their products more competitive than Indian teas.
It further recommended that authorities impose restrictions on the import of low-quality teas, as traders reportedly repackage, rebrand, and blend them with Indian-origin teas before selling them in global markets, often without proper disclosure.
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Alarm Over Kenyan Imports
Echoing these concerns, Assam BJP MLA Mrinal Saikia raised the alarm over the surge in tea imports from Kenya.
Posting on X (formerly Twitter) on August 24, he warned: “If steps are not taken to curb the excessive import of Kenyan tea, the Assam tea industry faces the risk of collapse.”
According to data shared by Saikia, India has imported 45% more Kenyan tea this year, even as warehouses in Assam are overflowing with unsold stock and auction prices continue to drop.
For Assam’s 1.33 lakh Small Tea Growers (STGs), who produce 55% of the state’s tea and support nearly a million livelihoods, the situation has become critical.
Prices for raw green leaf have already fallen to Rs 12–14 per kg, with fears of further decline due to rising imports.
Emphasising the broader socio-economic impact, Saikia pointed out that lakhs of people, from estate workers to smallholder cultivators, depend directly on the tea industry.
He warned that without a review of the current tariff-free import policy, “the death knell for Assam tea seems almost certain.”
Measures Taken by Tea Board
The Committee acknowledged that the Tea Board of India has introduced several import safeguards, including:
- Banning the blending of imported teas with GI-tagged teas unless clearly labelled
- Requiring mandatory declaration of origin on packaging and sale invoices
- Enforcing compulsory clearance certificates via the Tea Council portal for imports/exports
- Conducting tests on imported consignments for FSSAI compliance, along with random sampling
- Launching joint training initiatives with Customs and FSSAI to tighten import checks
Nepal Trade Agreement Under Scrutiny
The Committee also recommended a review of the Indo-Nepal trade agreement, which currently allows duty-free entry for Nepalese tea into India, while Indian tea exports to Nepal attract a 40% duty. The panel expressed concern that traders are mixing low-quality Nepalese tea with GI-tagged Darjeeling Tea, undermining its global reputation. It called for strict penalties for violations involving GI products.
Call for Revival Package
Addressing the distress in the sector, the Committee called for an urgent revival package for closed tea gardens and recommended setting up a panel to conduct an impartial assessment of the tea industry’s current condition.