Himachal tea growers suffer losses due to coronavirus lockdown

Bearing the brunt of the nationwide lockdown imposed to curb coronavirus, the tea industry is suffering due to reduced workforce and lack of transportation.

“When the lockdown was announced, the plucking of tea leaves and processing had stopped. On March 30, we were given permission to restart the activities with minimum use of labour and ensuring cleanliness. But we are still facing issues of reduced workforce and transportation,” Aman Pal Singh, the manager of the Dharamsala Tea Company, said.

“Our produce in April is usually in demand in the European markets and in Kolkata. However, due to European markets being almost shut we will have to send all the produce to Kolkata, but transporting them is difficult as trucks are not plying. Our stock is held up here. If this continues for a few more days then we will have to face 30% to 40% loss,” he said.

The tea estate manager hoped that the government will allow the inter-state movement of trucks after April 20, which will ensure that the produce fetches good price and losses can be reduced for all growers in the region.

“Work was stopped for many days. The number of people working in tea gardens has also gone down drastically. We are afraid of the (coronavirus) disease and are using masks besides washing our hands regularly basis while working,” Vishu Oraon, a worker, said.

The lockdown, which was originally scheduled to continue till April 14, has been extended to May 3 in view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

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