INDIA
The 105-day strike in the hills of Darjeeling dealt a body blow to the tea industry. Disenchanted workers, only about 40% of whom reported for work immediately following the end of the strike, will prolong recovery. The Tea Board of India is extending emergency funds of $15 million, equal to about one-quarter of estimated losses, according to Chairman P K Bezbaruah.
Agronomists predict the unprecedented interruption has already lowered spring yields by 15–30%. Resting the plants will benefit quality but with global supplies nearly exhausted, quantity is an important consideration. The underlying concern is that tea drinkers have many more choices today than in the past.
Those who prefer Darjeeling to all other teas will pay the higher prices but Darjeeling used in blends will be substituted for more readily available teas.
During the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) led shutdown (the strike hoped to force the establishment of a separate state to be known as Gorkhaland), unwanted vegetation quickly encroached on the neatly groomed tea bushes. While workers at the gardens continue to clear the mess, some also tried to salvage the situation by plucking as much as they can to make up for the losses they suffered during the strike. Ultimately the autumnal harvest was abandoned as the more important task of restoring tea plants won out over a final harvest.