Relief in the Nilgiris as tea prices soar

COIMBATORE: After years of a downward spiral, prices of green tea have shot up giving much-needed relief to farmers in the Nilgiris.

The price rise is attributed to a drastic drop in production in the major tea-producing states of Assam and West Bengal due to extreme weather conditions and pest attacks in recent months.

Tea leaf prices have never gone beyond Rs 15 per kg in the last five years. Now because of a slash in production in several tea-growing states, its price has gone up to Rs 25 per kg and above depending on the quality of produce, say farmers.

“For several years, the farmers had to be content with Rs 12 or 13 per kg of tea leaf. It’s better now as the growers have got up to a maximum of Rs 30 per kg for tea leaf,” said ‘Thumbur’ I Bojan, president of Hill District Small and Marginal Farmers Association.

The Horticulture Department has estimated the cost of producing tea leaves to be Rs 22.50 per kg in 2022 by taking into consideration various factors like labour, transportation, fertilizer, and other inputs. At any cost, the prices shouldn’t go below this fixed amount as it may not be remunerative for the farmer.

However, B Venugopal, founder of the Nilgiris Small Scale Tea Growers Awareness Centre, said the tea leaf prices have begun to decline once again as production is resuming in West Bengal in Assam.

“At INDCOSERVE, the average price of tea powder was auctioned for Rs 114 kg last Wednesday as against Rs 126 a week ago. The price of tea powder fetches the lowest prices in the Nilgiris as compared to other tea-growing states due to manipulation by traders. Not just in northern states, the overall productivity has come down by 10 to 15 per cent in the Nilgiris over the last six months,” he said.

Besides unfavourable climatic conditions, the area of tea cultivation has begun to shrink as farmers are gravitating towards harvesting vegetable crops.

“For instance, the area of cultivation of carrots has increased steadily from 2,000 hectares to 4,000 hectares in a span of a few years. The cultivation of crops has led to the rampant use of pesticides and weedicides in the hills. Of the 1.5 lakh acres under tea cultivation, 5,000 acres may have been shifted to vegetable crops besides exploitation by realtors. Yet, tea cultivation continues to be the lifeline of people in the hills,” said Venugopal.

From the start of the year, tea leaf prices remained better at Rs 18 per kg and above as compared to the previous years.

“Nevertheless, it may be remunerative for farmers, only if tea leaf prices fetch not less than Rs 35 per kg. Even a few years ago in 2018, the green tea leaf prices were around Rs 26 to Rs 27 per kg. After all these years, its prices have remained the same, despite rising inflation,” said B Natarajan, a tea grower in Avalanche.