KATHMANDU: Nepali tea producers have resumed operations after India eased testing requirements, bringing respite to thousands of pickers following weeks of disruption to exports, traders told AFP on Tuesday (June 30).
India made quality testing mandatory for all Nepali tea imports in May, stopping sales until samples were inspected.
The move created a backlog as storage reached capacity at many sites, forcing more than 80 traders to halt production at their factories.
More than 80 per cent of Nepal's tea exports are sent to India, according to the National Tea and Coffee Development Board.
India has since reduced the sample testing from all imports to just a fifth, said Netra Prasad Subedi, a spokesperson at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.
"Earlier, India made it compulsory for 100 per cent testing of Nepali tea," Subedi told AFP.
"But, in a letter last week, it mentioned that only 20 per cent consignment would be carried out."
Dilli Ram Shrestha, president of Suryodaya Orthodox Tea Producers Association, said the backlog of tea for testing had been cleared so that fresh tea supplies could be shipped.
"All the factories are open now," he said. "We have started supplying from our warehouse as well, beginning this week."
Nepal's eastern Himalayan foothills, particularly Ilam and Jhapa, are home to some of the country's oldest and most important tea-growing regions.
The Suryodaya association said the disruption had made a huge financial impact on more than 3,000 tea-farming families because it occurred during the peak picking season.
The halt resulted in many tea leaves going to waste.
Nepal exports approximately 15,600 metric tonnes of tea annually to India, generating around US$27 million in revenue, according to the tea board.
India is also Kathmandu's largest trading partner, accounting for 63 per cent of imports, or US$8.6 billion, followed by China at 13 per cent, or US$1.8 billion, according to World Bank figures. - AFP
