March 25: It has been more than a century and a half since Nepal started cultivation of tea. The tea produced here is also exported to foreign countries.

However, Nepali tea producers have to rely on the Indian market for export.

Although the Government of Nepal planned to export tea to China to diversify the tea market and break the monopoly of the Indian market, the plan has failed to materialize. Since the government’s plan could not be materialized, Nepal’s tea market has not been able to expand due to its dependence on India.

According to the National Tea and Coffee Development Board, tea produced in Nepal is exported to 38 countries in the world including China, America, Europe through some private companies. However, stakeholders say that it is not enough to break the monopoly of the Indian market.

They have recommended the government to take a G2G (Government-to-Government) initiative.

The board’s Director Dr Deepak Khanal said that although tea production has improved a lot compared to the past, Nepal has not made satisfactory progress in its efforts to expand the market.

According to him, even now the biggest problem of Nepal’s tea industry is the lack of market and monopoly of Indian market. He argues that the export of only 15 percent to European and American markets, apart from India, confirms that Nepali tea has not yet found a market.

According to him, the export of tea to countries other than India is possible through the personal relationship of businessmen.

According to the data of the board, Nepal exported 12,496 metric tons of tea worth Rs 3.43 billion in the fiscal year 2078/79. Out of that volume, 12, 096 metric tons of tea worth Rs 3.05 billion were exported to the Indian market. Nepalese CTC and orthodox tea are being exported to some states of India including West Bengal. Nepal produces more than 26,300 metric tons of annually on of 20,200 hectares of land. It includes 6,500 metric tons of orthodox tea.

“We planned to export to China two years ago through the G2G process to break the monopoly of the Indian market, but it has been stalled for now,'' Khanal told New Business Age. He said that the plan stalled because the government did not take diplomatic initiatives to export tea through the G2G process.

Khanal says that Nepali tea, which is sold at Rs 650 per kg in the Indian market, can be sold for as high as Rs 3700 if it is delivered to China.

Chairman of Gorkha Tea State Pvt. Ltd. Uday Chapagain says that the government should open the Chinese market as soon as possible to eliminate Nepal’s dependence on India for the tea market.

According to him, in order to expand the market of Nepali tea in countries other than India, it is also necessary to spread the message of quality products without chemical pesticides to the farmers.

100 Tons Order from China

Meanwhile, in a recent news published by the state-owned news agency RSS, it is mentioned that the Chinese businessmen who visited the tea plantations and industries of Ilam have ordered more than 100 metric tons of tea. Chinese tea traders had reached there a few days ago on the initiative of Ilam Municipality and Ilam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Tea businessman Chiran Dahal reportedly coordinated to bring the Chinese tea traders. On that occasion, Dahal said that there was a discussion between Chinese businessmen and local tea businessmen and farmers about the purchase of tea and the possibility of exporting tea to China.