Nepal's cheaper tea gives a threat to premium Darjeeling tea

KOLKATA: India has tightened import rules for thwarting the entry of Nepal's cheaper tea, which is giving tough competition to premium Darjeeling tea in the domestic market.
Although the new rules apply to imports from all countries, the rules have been made more stringent in view of the huge volumes of Nepal tea that is entering India and is being sold as Darjeeling tea, said a senior official of Tea Board, which framed the rules. “All these years, Indian traders have been importing teas from Indonesia and Vietnam for re-export.

They were never used for domestic consumption,“ said the official, adding that cheaper tea from Nepal is an exception.With new rules in place, all importers bringing in tea for distribution in the country will be required to furnish information on the place of storage to the nearest Tea Board office within 24 hours of entry of the consignment.The importer will also have to specify the origin and contents of such imported teas at each stage of distribution.“No such imported teas shall be passed off as teas of Indian ported teas shall be passed off as teas of Indian origin.

Random samples of teas may be collected from the stock of such imported teas for distribution in India by Tea Board for the pur pose of ascertaining whether such samples conform to the requirements laid down,“ the official said. Retailers say it is difficult to segregate Darjeeling and Nepal teas, which is why the tea from the Himalayan kingdom is making its way to retail shelves.

According to them, Nepal tea is available at Rs 250 a kg while Darjeeling tea is available for Rs 350 per kg in the domestic market. “We were feeling the heat of competition from Nepalese teas and so we met Union commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss the issue,“ said SS Bagaria, chairman of Darjeeling Tea Association.

He said the association urged the minister that all tea imports from Nepal should be registered with the Tea Board. In Sri Lanka, he said, all tea imports have to be registered with the country's tea board. Tea industry officials said that though the tea distribution and export control order makes it mandatory to register any imports with the Tea Board, sometimes tea from Nepal enters India through the porous border.

“Trade relations between India and Nepal should improve but we should know how much tea is entering the country,“ said a senior official. India had imported 19.23 million kg of tea in 2013-14, from countries including Vietnam, Indonesia and Nepal. To protect the GI (geographical indication) for Darjeeling tea in overseas markets, the planters have roped in legal firm KS Partners.

“We will also seek funds from the ministry for promotion of Darjeeling tea in India and abroad. KS Partners is helping us with a promotion strategy in the backdrop of a legal framework,“ Bagaria said. Some Darjeeling tea experts feel the quality of Darjeeling tea should be improved to ward off rival Nepal tea.