KOLKATA: Darjeeling tea production is estimated to have declined to 6.1-6.3 million kg in 2023, which industry veterans said could be the lowest “normal year output” in over 50 years. Compared to 6.9 million kg in 2022, production is estimated to at least 9% lower.
Between January and November, production is estimated to have been around 6 million kg, data available with the Calcutta Tea Traders Association (CTTA) showed.
“Generally, December is a lean month for tea production. In 2022, it was only 60,000 kg in December. The December 2023 figures are yet to come but it will not make much difference,” CTTA secretary general Kalyan Sundaram said.
The output in 2023 is expected to be the lowest since 3.2 million kg in 2017. “But 2017 was not a normal year. There was a strike that affected production,” said Sandip Mukherjee, adviser, Darjeeling Tea Association.
What has come as a further blow is a decline in average price realisation during auctions. Compared to 2022, prices fell 7.6% to Rs 315 a kg – the lowest since 2015, when it was Rs 290 a kg. Industry players, however, said the average realisation may not be the best indicator of how much producers are earning.
“Of the total production, just a little over 20% is being auctioned, as most of the Darjeeling tea is sold privately. The total quantity offered in the auction was 1.5 million kg,” said Sundaram.
Mukherjee credited the fall in production in 2023 to multiple factors. “Around 10 gardens in Darjeeling are closed, which could produce a million kg of tea… Due to a shortageof workers, tea plucking is affected,” he added.
Rudra Chatterjee, managing director at Luxmi Tea, also blamed climate change for the fall and underlined the need to focus on quality enhancement. In the 1990s, annual production hovered around 11-12 million kg.
Between January and November, production is estimated to have been around 6 million kg, data available with the Calcutta Tea Traders Association (CTTA) showed.
“Generally, December is a lean month for tea production. In 2022, it was only 60,000 kg in December. The December 2023 figures are yet to come but it will not make much difference,” CTTA secretary general Kalyan Sundaram said.
The output in 2023 is expected to be the lowest since 3.2 million kg in 2017. “But 2017 was not a normal year. There was a strike that affected production,” said Sandip Mukherjee, adviser, Darjeeling Tea Association.
What has come as a further blow is a decline in average price realisation during auctions. Compared to 2022, prices fell 7.6% to Rs 315 a kg – the lowest since 2015, when it was Rs 290 a kg. Industry players, however, said the average realisation may not be the best indicator of how much producers are earning.
“Of the total production, just a little over 20% is being auctioned, as most of the Darjeeling tea is sold privately. The total quantity offered in the auction was 1.5 million kg,” said Sundaram.
Mukherjee credited the fall in production in 2023 to multiple factors. “Around 10 gardens in Darjeeling are closed, which could produce a million kg of tea… Due to a shortageof workers, tea plucking is affected,” he added.
Rudra Chatterjee, managing director at Luxmi Tea, also blamed climate change for the fall and underlined the need to focus on quality enhancement. In the 1990s, annual production hovered around 11-12 million kg.
