January 7: Farmers and businessmen of Eastern Terai are worried due to the decline in the export of CTC tea. Last year, at this time, they were busy exporting CTC tea. This year, CTC tea is being stored in the warehouses of farmers and businessmen. According to the Department of Customs, tea export has decreased this year compared to last year.

In terms of monetary value, tea exports has shrunk by Rs 383.8 million in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY.

Similarly, the export volume has decreased by 28,83,182 kg. In the first five months of the current year, 71,82,348 kg of tea worth Rs 1. 87 has been exported.

Due to the decrease in exports and the lack of interest from Indian traders to buy tea from Nepal, farmers and businessmen are worried that tea will have to be stored in warehouses this year.

The Indian Tea Board has been blocking team imports from Nepal time and again under various pretexts.

Orthodox and CTC tea are exported from Nepal to 22 countries of the world including India. While Orthodox goes to India and third countries, CTC tea's main market is India.

Businessmen say that the Government of Nepal should sign an agreement with the Indian government to create an environment where there will be no obstacles in the export of CTC tea. They say that unless this is done, domestic tea producers and businessmen cannot be sustain their business.

Shiva Kumar Gupta, general secretary of Nepal Tea Producers Association said that Nepali CTC tea cannot be easily exported to the Indian market due to the conditions imposed by India including lab testing.

"This year, tea export has decreased. So, the farmers and businessmen are forced to store ready-made tea in warehouses,” he said.

According to the data of the Department of Customs, tea worth Rs 3.79 billion was exported from Nepal in 2077/78 and Rs 3.43 billion in 2078/79. In the year 2079/80, a total of 165,949 metric tons of tea worth Rs 3.93 billion were exported.