Guwahati: Erratic climatic conditions have led to a 5.62 per cent fall in tea production in the state in November this year compared to November 2022, an official figure of the Tea Board of India said.
Assam produced 63.27 million kg of tea in November this year against 67.04 mkg in 2022 and 61.15 mkg in 2021.
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Of them, the tea production in Brahmaputra Valley was 59.13 million kg in November 2023 against 52.28 mkg in 2022 and 56.50 mkg in 2021.
The state’s total tea production from January to November was 654.63 mkg against 668.16 mkg in 2022 (from January to November).
Of the total production, big houses produced 344.89 mkg (53 per cent) and small growers produced 309.74 mkg of tea from January to November this year.
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In 2022, big houses produced 348.85 mkg ((52 per cent) of tea while small growers produced 319.31 mkg (48 per cent) from January to November.
There is a 4.98 per cent shortfall of tea production in the Brahmaputra Valley and 14.08 per cent in the Barak Valley in November this year, the figure stated.
There is also a shortfall of tea production by 2.02 per cent in the state (1.77 per cent in Brahmaputra Valley and 6.07 per cent in Barak Valley) from January to November this year compared to January to November.
There is also a shortfall of 3.61 per cent (3.48 per cent in Brahmaputra Valley and 5.67 per cent in Barak Valley) from April to November this year compared to 2022.
Tea production in Barak Valley was 4.09 mkg in November 2023 against 4.78 mkg in 2022 and 4.65 in 2021.
Of 63.27 mkg of tea produced by the state, 33.36 mkg (53 per cent) was produced by the big houses in November this year, while small tea growers produced 29.91 mkg (47 per cent) of tea during the month.
In 2022, tea production by big houses was 33.23 mkg (50 per cent) while the production by small growers was 33.81 mkg in November.
All India figures said the country produced a total of 127.12 mkg of tea in November against 135.49 mkg in November 2022, which is a fall of 8.37 mkg. Tea production in the country was 120.85 mkg in November 2021.
Tea production in the country from January to November was 1290.85 mkg against 1301.83 mkg in 2022 and 1277.21 in 2021.
“Tea plantations are highly dependent on climate, and hence climate change has been adversely affecting tea production for the past few years,” said an official of the Tea Association of India (TAI).
“From 1990 to 2019, the average maximum temperature in the state increases by 0.049 degrees Celsius annually. During this period, the state observed an average decline of 10.77 million in rainfall, leading to a rise in temperature that adversely affected tea production.
The annual rainfall of the district ranges from 2600 mm to 3200 mm. Rainfall generally begins in April and continues till the end of September.