INDIA
Concerned about declining quality and declining tea prices, the Tea Board of India instituted mandatory harvest restrictions this winter. These include requirements that manufacturing cease by mid-December and that no plucking occur until early spring.
Plucking cannot commence until Feb. 18 in the major producing states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, and Manipur. Lower altitude Bengal and Bihar can begin as early as Feb. 11. Tea pluckers in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand must wait until February 28.
A period of dormancy improves leaf quality and is traditional in ancient producing countries such as China and Japan. In Africa, South India, and lands closer to the equator plucking is continuous.
In northerly latitudes, cold weather benefits the harvest so long as temperatures remain around 40 degrees (5 Centigrade) for short periods. India’s northern states normally begin plucking the first flush in mid-February. This harvest extends through March followed by a second flush which continues until the arrival of the monsoons. The final autumn harvest ends in early December.
India’s first harvest of the year generates about 20 percent of green leaf totals but accounts for 30 percent of revenue. Stakeholders discussed the mandatory pluck date at length and the board agreed to some flexibility in following historical patterns.
However, “early cropping because of favorable weather conditions/other factors and starting of manufacturing before the timeline must be brought to the notice of the board prior to the commencement of such activity,” according to the board.
“Bad quality tea produced in violation of the (Food Products Standard and Food Additives) norms in winter has caused considerable damage to the name and reputation of Indian tea among customers. Indian tea is known for its quality, flavor, aroma, briskness and creamy mouth feel and presence of such bad quality tea has become an impediment in increasing the export,” according to the board.
Sustained efforts to improve quality will lead to better prices, according to the board.