The closed tea factories in Jhapa and Ilam are set to reopen after the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers assured to take diplomatic and administrative initiatives to resolve the problems seen in tea exports.
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The Nepali tea sector has been further thrown into confusion after India implemented a decision to conduct mandatory sample testing on 20 percent of tea consignments imported from Nepal. However, after the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers assured to take diplomatic and administrative initiatives to resolve the problems seen in tea exports, the closed tea factories in Jhapa and Ilam are set to reopen.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has implemented a risk-based testing system for tea (HSN code 0902) imports through a letter issued on June 23, with immediate effect, implementing a system of 'random interception', i.e., selecting samples and testing them in 20 percent of the consignments.
As per the decision of the FSSAI meeting held on June 16 under the chairmanship of the Commerce Secretary of India, it is stated that tea imported for domestic consumption will be tested at an initial rate of 20 percent. This system will be implemented at all customs entry points in India.
Earlier, Nepali tea was being stopped in the name of laboratory testing during its entry into India. Currently, about 300,000 kg of ready-made tea is stuck in Indian warehouses, while more than 1 million kg of tea is stuck in Nepal's warehouses, according to industrialists.
In protest against this problem, industrialists in Ilam had closed their industries since Asad 1 and industrialists in Jhapa since Asad 4. When about 99 tea industries in the east, including Jhapa and Ilam, were closed, work in more than fifty small and large tea gardens also came to a standstill.
After the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers assured that it would seriously address the existing problems in the tea sector and take diplomatic and administrative initiatives as soon as possible, the industrialists agreed to restart the industry.
Aditya Parajuli, President of the Nepal Tea Producers Association, said that the decision to open the industry was made optimistic about the government's initiative.
‘All industries in the east, including Jhapa and Ilam, will resume operations from Friday,’ he said, ‘Work will also continue in the plantations.’ He said that the industry cannot be closed for a long time, considering the green tea leaves growing in the farmers’ plantations and the direct impact on the daily livelihood of the workers.
‘We are now confident in the government’s steps. Respecting the government’s positive initiative, we have decided to reopen the closed industries,’ he said.
Earlier, it was made public that a special task force had been formed by the Prime Minister’s Office to study and resolve the problems seen in tea exports. The task force has been given the responsibility of submitting a report within two weeks with suggestions for immediate, medium and long-term solutions.
Industrialists, on the other hand, have been insisting that the government should find a permanent solution through diplomatic initiatives, saying that the Nepali tea industry is in a long-term crisis as India repeatedly implements new standards.
