Darjeeling tea is selling at Rs 3,500 per kg as against Rs 1,500 a kg a year ago. First flush teas from lower elevation gardens, though not in big volumes, have started arriving in the market and its quality is much better this year, traders said, adding that a Tea Board directive issued on October 31, 2018 to close gardens by early December seems to have paid off.
“We are expecting a better 2019,” Binod Mohan, chairman at Darjeeling Tea Association, told ET. Traders said foreign buyers, especially from Germany and the UK, have entered into forward contracts with planters at higher prices compared with last year, indicating a rising demand for Darjeeling tea abroad.
Mohan said the rising cost of production is a major concern for planters. “If we compare with 2016, there has been a 45 per cent increase in cost of production,” he said. Darjeeling tea is produced in 87 tea estates in Bengal. These estates produce 8-8.5 million kg of tea annually. SS Bagaria, a Darjeeling planter, said foreign buyers are offering 5-10 per cent higher prices for first flush teas that will enter the market in March.
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