Weather, mosquitoes add to tea-yield worries

A deficit crop is staring at North India once more, with the weather playing truant and halophilic mosquito adding to the woes.

Till May, North India lost about three million kg tea, but June saw a steeper dip of six million kg.

“Thirty-two companies are yet to report their figures,” said an Indian Tea Association (ITA) official. The national committee of the association today reviewed the crop figures.

Typically, if ITA companies report a six million kg drop then in the North India context, it would translate to 9-10 million kg.

Early indications suggest that July would not be any better.

“Most of the properties in July recorded 25-40 per cent decline in crop,” said the official. The companies in the export domain have suffered a sharp decline in crop.

The main reasons behind the sharp drop in production were depressed crop in Upper Assam, partly due to weather and an attack of halophilic mosquito.

Moreover, the stringent norms in pesticide levels prevent companies from spraying pesticides indiscriminately.

Last year, drought conditions in most tea growing nations resulted in lower crop.

However, this year, crop output across the globe was higher by about 100 million kg.

After last year’s deficit crop, Kenya and Sri Lanka reported a higher output of 75 million kg during January-March while South India recorded an increase of 12 million kg.

The three countries—Kenya, Sri Lanka and India—account for 80 per cent of the black tea production.