India - Assam tea production resumes but set to lose 80 million kg tea worth Rs 1,218 crore

15.04.2020 133 views
After exemption for purview of lockdown and resumption of all field operations, the actual production of tea in Assam has resumed with plucking of tea leaves today, but planters say that almost the entire crop of month of March, which is estimated to be about 30 million kilograms, have been lost and another 50 million kilograms of tea is estimated to be lost in April and May. North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) advisor Bidyananda Barkakoty said that as per the Tea Board of India official figures, the annual average price of tea of North India (which includes Assam) at the Indian auctions in 2019 was Rs.152.26 per kg. "Therefore, taking the last year price, the total revenue loss of Assam tea industry due to lockdown is estimated to be Rs 1218 crore," he said. Seeking bail-out measures to mitigate the revenue loss, Barkakoty said, "There is no tradition of laying-off workers in the 197 years old Assam tea industry, unlike other industries. In view of this revenue loss of the already ailing tea industry, we solicit government's kind consideration in evolving measures to mitigate this revenue loss." "Tea plantation in Assam is seasonal in nature. After an unproductive off-season gap of almost three months, the new tea season had barely started around the second week of March. The tea gardens had to close down from March 22 due to COVID-19 related issues and the subsequent national lockdown. Therefore, we have lost almost the entire crop of March 2020 which is estimated to be about 30 million kilograms," North Eastern Tea Association (NETA) advisor Bidyananda Barkakoty said. He added that there will be more losses in the April and May. "Due to prolonged lockdown, about 35% of our plantations will have to be skiffed (removal of overgrown tea leaves). Skiffing operation will add to extra costs and will require two to three weeks for recovery to bring the tea bushes into a pluck able condition. Due to this skiffing operation, there will be crop loss in April and May," he said. Last year in Assam, 6.3% of annual crop was harvested in the month of April. "Considering the fact that the plucking operations will start from April 15 and taking into account the crop loss due to skiffing, the total crop loss for the month of April would be about 30 million kgs," Barkakoty added. Moreover, the skiffed areas would continue to lose crop in May until their full recovery. The crop of Assam in May, 2019 was 9.3% of annual crop, by which it is estimated that crop loss for May would be about 20 million kilograms. Therefore, the total estimated crop loss of Assam tea industry due to lockdown is about 80 million kilograms," he said. "We have assessed the revenue loss as realistically as possible based on available official data of Tea Board of India," Barkakoty added. Tea industry is highly labour intensive. Tea industry is one of the largest employers in the organised sector in India. About 50% of the total workforce are women. Source - https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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