India eases import restrictions on Nepali tea with new testing rules

The Indian government has eased restrictions on the import of Nepali tea by amending its testing regulations. Previously, the requirement for sample testing from every truckload of tea exported from Nepal had put the Nepali tea industry in a severe crisis.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has issued a circular to its subordinate bodies, instructing them to adopt a ‘risk-based system’, where only 20% of the total exports will be subject to sample testing. This means that four out of five tea consignments can now proceed to India without testing.

However, the implementation of this directive will be known on Monday, according to Aditya Parajuli, president of the Nepal Tea Producers Association.

Nepali tea producers have welcomed this new decision from the Indian side. Parajuli expressed optimism that the new arrangement will reduce delays at the border and minimize export obstacles.

Under the new rules, sample collection is expected to occur at the border itself. However, tea producers are waiting to see how the Indian Tea Board will implement these regulations in practice.

Despite the regulatory easing on paper, as of Sunday, the situation on the ground for tea exports remained unchanged, according to businesspeople.

Buddha Tamang, a tea entrepreneur from Ilam Suryodaya, stated that despite reports of eased regulations in the media, there has been no change in the difficulties faced in sending products to India.

Although tea industries, which were closed as a form of protest, have reopened at the government’s request, they still face the compulsion of keeping their produced tea in warehouses.

He said, “There has been no change in the tea export situation. We are still facing the same difficulties in sending our products to India.”

This is the second time in the past one and a half months that India has decided to ease the import process for Nepali tea. Earlier, on May 19, India had announced ‘random testing’, which had allowed exports to resume after a 19-day halt.

However, the issue resurfaced when the Indian Tea Board began collecting samples from each truck at the border and in Kolkata warehouses. With laboratory reports taking weeks, approximately 300,000 kg of Nepali tea was held up in Kolkata warehouses, leading to the temporary closure of tea industries in Ilam and Jhapa in protest.

Nepal’s tea sector is closely linked to a large workforce and the economy. Currently, there are about 120 large and small tea industries and over 100 small and medium enterprises operating in Nepal.

Around 50,000 to 60,000 people, including farmers and workers, are directly and indirectly dependent on this sector. In the previous fiscal year alone, Nepal exported orthodox and CTC tea worth 4.75 billion rupees.

Approximately 90% of the orthodox tea and nearly half of the CTC tea produced in Nepal is exported to the Indian market.