Darjeeling tea struggling to stage comeback; buyers from Japan absent

Production from January to April stood at 1.35 mkg, at par with last year

Darjeeling tea has so far failed to live up to consumers’ hopes of staging a comeback after a year because the sector is beset with problems such as stagnant production and prices, labour shortage, and the loss of buyers in Japan and Europe.

According to sector executives, in January-April this year, production, which primarily accounts for the first flush of tea, stood at 1.35 million kg (mkg), at par with last year. Prices have been Rs 600-650 a kg, stagnant as compared to last year.

“However, excessive rainfall and lack of sunshine have hampered the production of the second flush of tea.