Kangra tea revival plans brewing, but challenges galore
Once popular in Europe, Central Asia and Australia, and even Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Karga tea has lost favour and production has plummeted in recent years
Over 900 hectares of land under tea plantations in Kangra lay inactive for years, contributing to the industry’s downward spiral.
According to data shared by Tea Board of India officials in Palampur, 2,310 hectares of land is under tea cultivation on paper. However, only around 1,400 hectares is currently being used. Of this, large estate cultivation occupies around 625 hectares, while small tea growers cultivate approximately 775 hectares. The area under the tea cultivation stood at a massive 5,000 hectares under British rule. The number of farmers, which was more than 3,000, has also come down to half.
Kangra tea is known for its unique aroma and traces of fruity flavour. Milder than the Darjeeling tea in terms of flavour, it has more body and liquor. The tea is grown 900-1,400 m above sea level on the slopes of the Dhauladhar mountain range in the western Himalayas.
Once popular in Europe, Central Asia and Australia, and even Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Karga tea has lost favour and production has plummeted in recent years. Dedicated efforts, however, have ceased the rot as the annual production hovers at around 9 to 10 lakh kg. That, however, is far less than 17 to 18 lakh kg produced a few decades ago.
In 2013, the annual production was around 10.49 lakh kg, but hovered around the 9 lakh kg mark between 2014 to 2018. In 2019, the production again increased to 9.54 lakh kg, followed by 10.87 lakh kg in 2020. In 2021 and 2022, the production remained below 10 lakh kg only to cross the mark last year.
Today, around 1,400 hectare land is under active cultivation of tea, up from 1,100 hectares a few years ago. Abhimanyu Sharma, a Palampur-based factory advisory officer at the Tea Board of India said small growers’ contribution in tea plantations is bigger.
“Earlier because of labour issues, plantations were not properly maintained. After the introduction of mechanisation in plantation (plucking machine, pruning machine) there is little sigh of relief for the growers as now they were able to maintain the land. So, the area which was abandoned earlier due to a smaller number of labourers available, was now being plucked with mechanical harvesters. This started in 2014-15 onwards and now approximately around 200-300-hectare area which was earlier abandoned is now in a pluckable state.”
Rajiv Sud, owner of Palampur-based Himalayan Brew Tea company, highlighted the absence of government intervention to help revive Kangra tea. “Our estate has independently reclaimed 150 hectare land in recent years. However, there has been no assistance from the government to support the revival of tea cultivation,” he said.
“Since it is privately owned, significant portions of land that were once dedicated to tea cultivation have gradually disappeared. Urbanisation and the establishment of colonies have encroached upon land previously used for tea cultivation. In contrast, in some other states, the government owns the land and leases it for tea cultivation. The government could implement a revival plan and explore tea cultivation on vacant lands. The government can even provide subsidies to the farmers,” he added. He also highlighted the lack of government support for transportation and storage, noting that the warehouse costs in Kolkata are exorbitant. Besides, he added that estates have shrunk over time as land parcels were divided among multiple owners, rendering them financially unviable.
Tea Board of India Palampur deputy director Rakesh Kumar said there was a period when production was on a decline “However, in recent years, we have implemented a special revival plan to rejuvenate neglected areas, resulting in production exceeding 10 lakh kg per year,” he said, adding that the primary challenges remain labour-related.
Kumar highlighted that obtaining the European Geographical Indication (GI) tag has granted recognition to the tea, and efforts are underway to promote it further. “Unlike states such as Assam and West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh lacks policies on tea and tourism integration,” he said.
Dr Jameson, then superintendent of the Botanical Tea Gardens, had in 1849 spotted the region’s potential for tea cultivation. Being one of India’s smallest tea regions makes Kangra green and black tea more exclusive. While the black tea has a sweet lingering aftertaste, the green tea has a delicate woody aroma.