Tea factories in Jhapa shut down from today

Kathmandu. After India imposed an unannounced ban on the export of Nepali tea, the tea factories in the eastern part of the country have started shutting down. More than 30 tea factories and around two dozen tea gardens in Jhapa have also been closed since June 15.

The tea industries produced in Ilam and Jhapa were left unchecked and the government ignored diplomatic efforts to stop them, said Nepal Tea Producers Association.

According to Aditya Parajuli, president of the association, the entrepreneurs have been compelled to take this step after the government bodies were repeatedly approached to remove the obstruction made by India.

“We urged the concerned bodies time and again to take diplomatic initiatives from the higher level, but it was difficult to find anyone to listen to us,” Parajuli said, adding, “In the past, the government used to show some concern when such problems occurred. ’

The export has come to a standstill and the godowns of the factories are full of readymade tea and daily work has been affected.

Entrepreneurs say that they are unable to pay the workers and employees of the factory as the tea produced has not been sold.

The association has warned that they will not call off their tea shutdown until the ban on the export of tea is lifted by India.

Jhapa is the largest tea producing district in Nepal. CTC and orthodox tea worth Rs 12 billion to Rs 14 billion are traded annually here.

According to traders’ data, more than Rs 5 billion worth of tea is exported to India alone.

The halt in tea exports and closure of factories have put the livelihood of around 60,000 workers, employees and farmers directly dependent on the tea sector at risk.

Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Gauri Kumari had said that the government was making diplomatic efforts to remove obstacles seen in the export of Nepali tea produced in Ilam and Jhapa to India.

Responding to the queries raised by the lawmakers during the discussion on the budget of the Ministry of Industry under the Appropriation Bill-2083 BS, Minister Kumari said that the government has come up with a special plan for proper storage and effective marketing of domestic agricultural products including tea and cardamom.