Nepal Tea Planters Association says that the protracted dry and hot spell in eastern Nepal has led tea production in the region to fall by as much as 20 percent, as compared to earlier seasons. Chandi Parajuli, president of the association, attributed the dip in productivity to the scant rainfall the area has seen and to the inability on the part of tea planters to irrigate their tea bushes-irrigation pumps in the area regularly stall because of powercuts.
"All of the cut-twist-curl (CTC) tea planters have not been able to irrigate their tea bushes for the last few months for lack of electricity," said Parajuli. "And if the drought continues for the next couple of weeks, production loss will surely double," he said. Nepal produces about 14.1 million tons of CTC tea. Of that, 55 percent is exported to countries like Pakistan.
Most of the electricity that the tea planters are dependent on to power their irrigation pumps is generated by local small-hydro installations. But the lack of pumped water for the tea bushes, coupled with the searing heat of this summer, has caused some 10 percent of the tea plants in the area to wither.
Ashok Muraraka, vice-president of the Orthodox Tea Producers Association, also estimates that there has been a drop in first-flush orthodox tea production by around 20 percent. Nepal produces 1.9 million kg of orthodox tea, and more than 90 percent of that is exported to countries like Japan and to the European countries.
Parajuli and Muraraka shared the bad news at a press meet organized by the National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB) on Monday, on the eve of National Tea day.
Binaya Mishra, executive director of the NTCDB, told the press that the export of tea increased by more than hundred-fold over the last one decade. Tea exports shot up sharply to 8,600 tons in the fiscal year 2007/08, from 81.4 tons recorded in the fiscal year 1996/97. Similarly, the total tea production area and production volumes also rose to 16,594 hectares and 16.1 million kg, respectively, in 2007/08. The figures were 3,502 hectares and 2.9 million kg a decade ago.
But a proposed five-year strategic plan, if implemented, may finally prevent tea planters from being victimized by the elements in the future. Mishra said that the plan, a draft of which is at the final stage, will be helpful in further commercializing tea production, strengthening farmers´ capacity, pushing up exports and expanding production areas that have high productivity.
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