Coronavirus puts tea industries out of gear

Kokila Dhakal / Ilam: This is the season of the ‘first flush’ – qualitative tea leaves. Farmers begin to pluck the first flush by the third week of March every year. But this year the leaves are growing in the tea plants even though it is already April.

The lockdown put into effect to save people from the coronavirus pandemic has put the tea factories out of work. It has affected hundreds of tea farmers and thousands of workers at the gardens in Ilam, Jhapa, Dhankuta and other districts.

Following the requests of farmers and workers to run the industries to utilise the first flush that would draw higher price compared to later times, the State 1 government and Suryodaya Municipality of Ilam have asked the entrepreneurs to operate the factories applying safety measures.

The Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives of State 1 on Wednesday had asked the local levels in the state to formulate standards to pluck, collect, transport and process the tea and operate the industries.

It had also directed the local governments to implement the standards and monitor them.

As per the state government’s direction, Suryodaya Municipality had issued an 18-point directives and standards for the tea industries. It has asked the farmers to pluck tea by applying safety measures to avoid COVID-19 pandemic.

But Suryodaya Tea Association has said that it was impossible to run the industries until there was lockdown.

Issuing a press release on Thursday, President of the association Punam Rai said that it was not possible to run the factories adhering to the 18-point directives for safety standards. The association has 62 members.

Meanwhile, Rabin Rai, General Secretary of the Tea Cooperative Association, said that the tea was going to waste as the factories were closed.

“Tea is growing in the plants and chances of operating the industries are slim. The international market of Nepali tea has also gone down to zero,” he said, adding that there was no demand from the developed countries as well as India.

Executive Chairman of Gorkha Tea Estate Udaya Chapagain said that it was necessary to save farmers, workers and entrepreneurs from further loss.

According to him, the foreign traders have canceled trade trips to Nepal and there is no demand for Nepali tea. “The entire tea industry is on the verge of collapse. The pandemic has hit the business hard when it was the beginning of the season and business was about to kick-start,” said Chapagain.

He demanded some steps from the government to save the tea business and farmers from the crisis.

Rabin Rai also demanded that the government pay attention to save the tea industry that has made the country self-reliant in the product in order to save the economy from adverse impact.