Assam Small Tea Growers Crises Deepen With India Importing More Tea From Kenya

India has imported 45% more tea from Kenya this year, even as Assam’s warehouses are overflowing with unsold stock and auction prices collapse. For the state’s 1.33 lakh Small Tea Growers (STGs), who produce 55% of Assam’s tea and employ nearly a million people, the contradiction is brutal. Prices of raw green leaf have already dipped below ₹12–14 per kg, and the Kenyan influx threatens to push them further down.

BJP MLA Mrinal Saikia, himself a small tea grower, has raised the alarm and drawn Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s attention to the looming crisis. “This is a direct assault on Assam’s backbone. How can we allow massive imports when our growers cannot even get fair value for their produce? I urged the Prime Minister to intervene because this is not only economics—it is about the survival of one million livelihoods,” Saikia said.

Industry leaders and experts paint a grim picture. Joydeep Phukan, Principal Officer & Secretary of the Tea Research Association, warned: “Prices have collapsed in the auctions and there are huge outlots for domestic teas. Imported teas don’t face compliance issues, and they’re cheaper. That makes the situation even worse for local growers.”

Tea taster and educator Parag Hatibarua underlined the structural imbalance: “India produces around 1.4 billion kilos of tea. Kenyan imports are a minuscule percentage, mostly for re-export, though some enter illegally into the domestic market. But the real issue is oversupply. Per capita consumption in India is barely 865 grams. Do the maths—we’re simply producing too much tea. Demand and supply are mismatched.”

From an international perspective, Tiza Banda, an agricultural operations manager, noted that Kenya is not the only exporter to India. “The key is regulating production in line with actual demand. When the market is saturated, prices inevitably fall. India must also explore new export opportunities to ease pressure on the local market,” he said.

Entrepreneur Jayant Jalan was more blunt about consumer realities: “Value hunt is going on. For most Indians, chai is a caffeine sharbat. No amount of prohibition on imports has worked before, and won’t now. What’s needed is enforcement of MRLs (Maximum Residue Limits) on imports—but if that happens, enforcement on local production must follow too, and that faces stiff resistance.”

Amid these competing views, one fact remains: Assam’s small tea growers—fragmented across regions and lacking policy backing—stand at the edge of collapse. Unless imports are regulated and domestic policies are realigned with demand, Assam’s century-old tea industry risks sliding into an irreversible crisis.

#8pm :- #AssamTea#KenyaTea
Assam tea under silent attack.
If some steps to curb the excessive import of Kenya Tea is not taken then the Assam Tea Industry is going to be doomed.
ভাৰত বিশ্বৰ দ্বিতীয় বৃহৎ চাহ উৎপাদনকাৰী দেশ। ভাৰতীয় চাহৰ বিশ্বৰ বজাৰত চাহিদা আছে। এই কৃতিত্বত অসম… pic.twitter.com/FJeJTNORBV

— Mrinal Saikia (@Mrinal_MLA) August 24, 2025

Also Read: Bumper Crop Turns Bitter for Assam’s Tea Growers