Lockdown and adverse weather have taken a heavy toll on tea production in the Nilgiris, the largest tea growing district in South India.
Due to reduced rainfall and increase in the number of sunshine hours, tea production in October dropped to 1.32 million kg (mkg) from 1.63 mkg in October 2019, marking a loss of as much as 19 per cent. Compared to the normal production of 1.44 mkg in the month (average for October in the last five years), the loss in October this year was 8.33 per cent.
The cumulative production in the ten months of the current calendar dropped to 10.82 mkg from 11.29 mkg in January-October 2019, marking a loss of 4.16 per cent.
However, the loss was much more compared to the normal production of 12.31 mkg (average for these ten months during the last five years). The loss was 12.10 per cent.
“In November, however, rainfall was heavy in the plantations in the North-East monsoon belt of The Nilgiris. This has increased the soil moisture as also the succulence of the tea leaves which will improve the quality of tea in the forthcoming winter”, ENR Vejayashekara, Speciality Tea Production Executive of Avataa Beverages in Billimalai Estate near Coonoor told BusinessLine.