Small tea growers of north Bengal have flagged a crisis where they are currently having to sell tea leaves at prices less than the cost of production.

“We are facing an unprecedented situation this year. These days, most of the growers are selling a kilo of tea leaves at Rs 15 to Rs 18 per kilo while we need to spend at least Rs 20 to produce a kilo of tea leaves. This imbalance has led to the crisis. In fact, a section of growers are thinking of not selling their produce as they are bearing losses,” said Bijoygopal Chakraborty, the secretary of the Jalpaiguri Zilla Kshudra Cha Chashi Samiti, an organisation of small tea growers.

In north Bengal, there are around 50,000 growers who contribute around 60 per cent of the total tea. In 2022, 415.88 million kg of tea was produced in Bengal, of which 247.11 million kg were contributed by the small tea sector. The rest came from tea estates.

“This is the time for the second flush which fetches good prices. We are surprised to see the decline in prices at the start of the season. During the rainy season, the yield will increase. We fear prices may dip further,” added Chakraborty.

In the past five years, the average price of a kilo of tea leaves had been Rs 35 during this period of the year, said the growers.

A grower based in Siliguri sub-division said that because of inclement weather, they were having to spend more on irrigation and safety from pest attacks.

“On one hand, the cost of production is on the rise. On the other hand, the prices are coming down. It is a tough situation as many growers run their families by selling tea leaves,” Harish Roy, the grower, said.

The growers also said that the bought-leaf factories (BLFs or standalone tea processing units) are not ready to pay more, citing the decline in auction prices.

“During the past few auctions, the average price of teas produced in the small sector was around Rs 120. It is indeed a troubling situation. If prices do not go up, how can we pay growers more? In fact, some BLF owners are planning to stop production for some period,” said a BLF owner in Siliguri.

The growers said that at meetings of the tea board, it had been planned that fact-finding committees would be formed to identify problems faced by small tea growers in different states.

“The tea board, however, has not formed any such committee. We want the central government to take initiatives and stand in support of the sector which provides jobs to over five lakh people in this region. If such a situation prevails, the growers will not have any option other than to shut their gardens,” said Jayanta Banik, the convener of the ITPA New Tea Gardens’ Forum.

Sources in the tea board said they were aware of the situation. “We believe prices will go up in auctions during the coming weeks as more buyers turn up,” said a source.