Tea board official: Nilgiris lacks enough tea processing units

Udhagamandalam: In what could be termed as bad news for those wishing to set up new tea manufacturing factories in the Nilgiris, the Tea Board of India has issued a circular stating that about136 tea growing blocks across the country have attained saturation level wherein no new factory can be sustained for lack of green tea leaves. The Nilgiris is one among the blocks.
However, representing the small tea farmers in the Nilgiris and citing inadequacy of tea processing units here, vice-chairman of the board B Kumaran has written to the licensing authority, seeking his intervention to exempt the Nilgiris from the list.
“Tea gardens owned by small tea farmers extends to over 1.2 lakh acres in the Nilgiris. There is surplus supply of raw material. If the board restricts new bought leaf factories, the trade of tea processing units will become monopolised,” Kumaran told TOI.
According to him, due to lack of enough number of processing units in the Nilgiris, the excess of green tea leaves are sent to corporate tea factories and sometimes, the excess raw material is transported to Valparai and Pollachi. “In such a situation, a ban on new bought leaf factories will create an adverse effect on the small tea farmers and the quality of the produce.”
The circular, dated June 7, 2019, said, ‘In order to ascertain availability of green leaves in the tea growing areas, Tea Board conducted a survey in 2018 and based on the data collated from the survey it has been found that 136 tea growing blocks (Annexure-A) in India have attained saturation level wherein no new tea factory can be sustained for lack of green leaves. Therefore, all concerned are advised to take note of Annexure-A prior to submission of application for setting up of new tea factory or expansion of existing units in those blocks’.
Annexure-A includes Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Kanyakumari, Theni and Tirunelveli districts, besides other blocks in other states.
Kumaran’s letter also pointed out that the position in current month in the Nilgiris is heart-rending. “Harvested green tea leaves are dumped in the field itself as there are no takers. Many of the tea gardens are not harvested.”
K Mohan, a small tea farmer, said, “Once competition in producing tea is given way, then quality of Nilgiri tea will automatically decline. Monopoly of the industry will make the small tea growers suffer more.”
Nilgiris is the only district in India where 70% of tea cultivation is done by small tea farmers, who depend on bought leaf factories.