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Assam tea industry looks at major crop loss now due to poor rainfall
The study by North Eastern Tea Association (NETA), an organisation of tea producers, says the crop deficit from January to May this year will be about 60 million kgs in comparison to that of the same period in 2019
Assam’s tea industry, which has still not recovered from last year’s Covid-19 lockdown, may now witness 40% crop deficit in the first five months of this year due to poor rainfall across the state, says a study.
The study by North Eastern Tea Association (NETA), an organisation of tea producers, says the crop deficit from January to May this year will be about 60 million kgs, or about 40%, in comparison to that of the same period in 2019.
“We have not compared crop figures with 2020 because last year, the crop deficit from January to May was 78 million kgs due to Covid lockdown,” said NETA advisor Bidyananda Barkakoty.
While in 2019, the annual tea production in Assam was 716.49 million kgs, it was down to 618.20 million kgs in 2020, a 14% drop owing largely to the lockdown.
According to NETA, the average rainfall deficit is about 45% between January and April this year in comparison to that of the same period last year in the main tea growing districts of Assam. Even in 2019, the state did not report poor rainfall.
“Nowadays, rainfall is highly localised and there is a difference in the quantum of rainfall within few kilometres of distance. The study assessed crop loss due to the impact of prolonged drought-like situation. It took into account rainfall received in the last few days,” said Barkakoty.
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Assam produces more than half of India’s total tea output. The state’s average annual tea production is between 630-700 million kg.
“Tea industry of Assam is facing tough times again this year. This year, a severe deficit of rainfall in the early part of the season has wreaked havoc in tea production,” said NETA chairman Sunil Jallan.
“Extreme weather fluctuations, both in terms of temperature and rainfall, have impacted growth of tea leaves severely. Temperature drop from 34 to 19 degrees centigrade (°C), coupled with hardly any sunshine for the last one week, is playing havoc with the crop,” said Mrigendra Jalan, adviser, Bharatiya Cha Parishad .
The second wave of Covid-19 has also affected several tea gardens in Assam. Earlier this month, three gardens in Tinsukia and Biswanath districts were declared containment zones after over 300 Covid cases were detected there.
Last week, the state government announced a set of SOPs for management of Covid in tea gardens.
