A section of tea planters in north Bengal questioned the decision of the Tea Board of India to set November 30 as the last day for plucking tea leaves in the region for this year, pointing out that many estate plantations still had tea leaves of good quality.

Over the past few years, the tea board has been announcing the first and the last dates of plucking and processing of tea leaves for tea-producing states of the country. The initiative has been taken to prevent the production and sale of low-quality teas as fresh leaves do not grow on bushes during the winter months.

“The tea board issued the order in July this year, making it mandatory for all tea manufacturers to stop production on November 30. The board wanted it to control
the production of poor quality teas and improve the market and price of the brew by minimising the gap between demand and supply,” said M.P. Bansal, the chairman of the Terai Indian Planters’ Association (Tipa).

“However, it didn’t work as the price didn’t increase after the closure. Rather, there has been a substantial decrease in prices by ₹60 to ₹100 per kilo,” he added.

After the tea board announced the closure date, representatives from the small tea sector — it produces over half of the total tea in north Bengal — requested in writing for
an extension.

“We wanted the board to let us pluck tea leaves till mid-December. This would have helped us and the north Bengal tea industry as a whole to recover the losses which we bore earlier this year due to inclement weather,” said Bijoygopal Chakraborty, secretary of the Jalpaiguri District Small Tea Growers Association.

The Tipa chairperson also said that due to the closure date, a section of tea estates faced a cash crunch, leading to delays in paying their workers.

“We are concerned as to how these gardens will run during the next two to three months. Many gardens have good quality tea leaves in their plantations but production cannot be carried out because of the restriction,” said Bansal.