Tea growers seek urgent policy support to stabilise tea industry
The Statesman | 4 January 2026
Calling for urgent policy support to protect the long-term sustainability of the Indian tea industry, Sandeep Singhania, President of the Tea Association of India (TAI), on Saturday outlined a comprehensive roadmap addressing production challenges, export bottlenecks, import misuse and declining prices at the 50th biennial general meeting of TAI held in Kolkata today.
Delivering an extensive address, Singhania highlighted that while global tea supply continues to rise, India must recalibrate its policy focus towards productivity enhancement, quality upgrade and market development rather than expansion of cultivated area. Referring to the Tea Development and Promotion Scheme (TDPS) proposed from 2026 onwards, he said the scheme should prioritise consolidation of existing plantations, cost reduction, technological intervention, clean energy usage and competitiveness in a free-market environment.
He stressed the need for government support for plantation development, revival of dilapidated tea gardens, irrigation facilities, field mechanisation, factory modernisation, value addition and incentives for orthodox and green tea production. Emphasising the role of technology, Singhania called for the adoption of drone surveillance, precision farming, traceability systems and block-chain technology to ensure transparency and efficiency across the value chain. Market promotion, utilisation of renewable energy and monetisation through carbon credits were also highlighted as critical focus areas.
On exports, Singhania pointed out that Indian tea shipments are increasingly hampered by logistical constraints, including inadequate export infrastructure, inefficient transportation modes, weak logistics value-chain management, shortage of dry ports and lack of supportive infrastructure. He urged both the Centre and the states to intervene to resolve these structural bottlenecks to improve India’s export competitiveness.
Raising serious concerns over rising imports, Singhania flagged the alleged misuse of the advance authorisation scheme and duty-free imports through Special Economic Zones (SEZs). He said these provisions, meant to promote exports, are distorting the domestic market and undermining the credibility of Indian tea globally. Despite a sharp increase in imports, there is no effective mechanism to track how much tea is re-exported and how much is diverted into domestic circulation.
TAI demanded that duty-free imports under advance authorisation and SEZ provisions be disallowed, proposing instead full duty payment with duty drawback on re-export under Section 74 of the Customs Act. He also called for stringent quality controls to prevent substandard teas from entering India, citing the Sri Lankan Tea Board’s standard operating procedures as a model. The Tea Board of India and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade were urged to introduce traceable and auditable systems aligned with FSSAI norms.
Highlighting domestic demand potential, Singhania noted that India’s per capita tea consumption stands at just 840 grams annually, far below the UK’s 1.61 kg and Pakistan’s 1.01 kg. He said an increase of even 100 grams per capita could absorb an additional 131 million kilograms annually, helping restore demand-supply balance.
The industry is also facing sustained price pressure. In 2025, the national average tea price declined by Rs 12.31 per kg or nearly 6 per cent, dropping from Rs 199.30 in 2024 to Rs 186.99. North India saw a sharper fall of about 8 per cent, with prices slipping by Rs 16.73 per kg.
On the global front, Singhania said world tea exports in 2024 stood at 1,956 million kg, with India contributing 256 million kg ~ around 13 per cent ~ marking an 11 per cent year-on-year increase. India’s production has risen 35 per cent over the past 15 years to 1,304 million kg in 2024, accounting for 19 per cent of global output and cementing its position as the world’s second-largest tea producer after China.