Ilam tea industries to shut down amid Indian export blockade

Kathmandu, June 14

After India created obstacles to Nepali tea exports, tea industrialists in Ilam have announced they will shut down operations starting June 15.

The Sunrise Orthodox Tea Producers Association Nepal stated that the severe crisis facing the tea sector has made it impossible to continue running the industry.

A new “Standard Operating Procedure” (SOP) recently issued by the Indian Tea Board has created a major obstacle to Nepali tea exports. Problems such as complex quality checks, opaque results, and lack of storage have caused large quantities of processed tea to pile up.

Association chairman Dilli Shrestha said about 1.2 million kg of processed tea is currently stranded. Over 200,000 kg that reached the Indian market remains stuck in Indian warehouses under the pretext of complex quality testing. In comparison, more than 1 million kg sits piled up in industries within Nepal.

Industrialists complain that the Indian Tea Board has added impractical rules, such as withholding test sample reports for months and requiring tea found substandard in those reports to be destroyed in Indian warehouses.

The association said that with exports halted, industries are now unable to even pay tea farmers for green leaves. Chairman Shrestha said all industrialists have been forced into a position where they cannot continue operations, and announced that all industries will be compelled to shut down from June 15.

While apologising for the inconvenience this shutdown will cause to tea farmers, workers, and businesspeople, the association appealed to local, provincial, and federal governments, as well as all political parties and stakeholders, for cooperation and solidarity in finding a proper resolution to this serious problem.

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