Are Substandard Tea Leaves from Arunachal Pradesh entering Assam?

Amidst the crisis of Assam’s small tea growers, another grave issue has struck in Dibrugarh district. It has been alleged that tea from Arunachal Pradesh is now filled with substandard quality products in Chabua, Dikom and Lahowal areas, which are sold at low prices. Tea workers are protesting against it. 

Assam’s Small Tea Growers Association (ASTGA) raised their concern over the matter after it checked the imported tea from Arunachal atPanitola Bypass in Tinsukia district.

 The Small Tea Growers Association has recently conducted a sudden inspection on Chabua highway, where a van was carrying imported low-grade quality tea leaves from Arunachal’s Philbari area. Apart from that, they also supervised the tea leaves from the various places of Dibrugarh district. Small Tea growers have raised their concern in this matter and demanded that the respective Department and the Assam government urgently look into this matter, and also requested fellow farmers to protest against this issue.

The tea growers who account for half of the state’s total output are now facing a livelihood crisis. In protest of that, the workers have decided not to pluck tea from 8^th September.

A large number of people in Assam depend on income from the small tea growers, and most farmers and families are occupied in this field. The Assam government has now failed to maintain the Tea production, and as a result of that the tea production and quality in Assam have lost their value.India has recently been importing tea from Kenya in large quantities. Moreover,low-cost tea in Assam is supplied from Kenya, and it is blended with Assam tea, a practice that dilutes the brand and reduces demand.

In the event of recent rising crises, green tea leaf prices are most likely to get low, and because of all the unchecked importation and low prices, small tea grower farmers are not even getting the right production value of tea leaves.

Also Read: Assam Small Tea Growers In Deep Crisis: Call For Agitation From September 8