Incessant rain triggered by the southwest monsoon in north Bengal and neighbouring Assam during the end of last month have hit hard the tea industry of both states, said representatives of a tea planters’ organisation.

According to members of the Tea Association of Indian (TAI), the downpour has reduced tea production by 11 per cent to 21 per cent in June in different tea belts, vis-à-vis the corresponding period of the last year.

“June is one of the months when production reaches its peak as the yield at the plantations is higher. However, due to the downpour which also led to flooding in different stretches of Assam and also damaged some of the tea plantations in north Bengal, there has been a decline in production,” said Prabir Bhattacharjee, secretary general, Tea Association of India.

In comprehensive data published by the association, it has been mentioned that it has rained more in most parts of the tea belts of these two states, which together produce around 81 per cent of Indian teas. “Among these areas, the highest margin has been recorded in Upper Assam where it has rained over 68 per cent more in May and June,” said a tea expert.

As a result, there has been a decline of 21 per cent in the production of tea in the Dooars, followed by Terai (19 per cent), the Barak Valley (16 per cent) and Assam (11 per cent).

According to the expert, the production has reduced also because the maximum temperature went down during the rainfall. “There had been less sunshine and some regions didn’t witness any sunshine for 11 of the 30 days of the month,” he added.

The planters pointed out that such loss in production has occurred at a time when in Bengal the daily tea wage has been revised by Rs 30.

“Also, both in Assam and in the Terai and the Dooars, there has been a dip in auction prices by around 15 per cent in May,” added Bhattacharjee.