Exports of CTC tea to India jump to Rs 1.5b
KAKKARBHITTA, MAY 30 -
Exports of CTC tea to India through the eastern border jumped to Rs 1.5 billion in the first 10 months of the fiscal year. Shipments amounted to Rs 1.34 billion in the whole of the last fiscal, said the Mechi Customs Office in Kakkarbhitta.
According to customs officials, rising demand in the international market has led to an increase in exports from Nepal. “Besides, production has also increased,” said Bamdev Panthi, a customs official.
India is the largest buyer of Nepali CTC tea . Around 95 percent of the production is shipped to India. It exports its tea to Pakistan and other countries. Nepali traders said that Indian traders buy Nepali tea as demand outstrips supply in the international market. “Therefore, Indian traders depend on Nepali tea ,” they said.
Meanwhile, Nepali traders and producers have become concerned by India’s declaration that it will only buy tea produced through the Integrated Pests Management (IPM) technique from 2013. IPM is an ecological approach to pest control in the tea gardens. It involves growing and producing tea with a sustainable approach to pest management so as to minimize health risks.
According to Ramesh Poudel, chairman of the Nepal Tea Producers Association, tea growers in Jhapa started implementing IPM in February to produce quality tea . Almost all the tea producers in Jhapa are implementing the environment-friendly pest control technique.
“Tea producers are increasingly using bio-pesticides these days,” said Poudel. “In fact, production has increased by implementing IPM.”
Many tea producers in Jhapa have adopted the “zero investment natural farming method” to control pesticides at little cost. The new method has been applied in Mechinagar, Jalthal and other village development committees where tea is produced. The initiative was launched by the National Tea and Coffee Development Board.
“The zero investment natural farming method to control pesticides was developed by Indian agriculture scientist Subash Palekar. This technique benefits producers,” said Indra Prasad Adhikari, regional chief of the board. “This low-investment method helps growers to produce healthy tea and also reduce pest hazards in the environment,” added Adhikari.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
