Ilam Tea Industries Face Closure Due to Indian Import Restrictions

Biratnagar. Most tea industries in Ilam are set to close after India tightened its tea import restrictions. The Suryodaya Tea Producers Association Nepal, an umbrella organization of tea industrialists nationwide, stated in a press release on Saturday that a compulsory situation has arisen to close tea industries from the upcoming Ashad 1st.

The press release mentioned that the export of Nepali tea has faced significant obstacles after the Indian Tea Board issued Standard Operating Procedures. The release stated that over 2 lakh kilograms of finished tea, which had reached the Indian market under the pretext of complex quality checks, is stuck in Indian warehouses, and reports for samples taken for testing have not been provided for up to a month.

It is mentioned that impractical rules have been added, such as the requirement to destroy the tea in Indian warehouses if the sample report is found to be of substandard quality.

In such circumstances, industries are compelled to close down as they are unable to make payments to farmers for their tea. It is stated that there are currently over ten lakh kilograms of finished tea in industries across Nepal.