Climate change threatening tea sector globally: Indian Tea Association
Future projections indicate a substantial reduction in the suitability of tea cultivation in areas where the crop is grown.
Published: 25th March 2023 05:05 PM | Last Updated: 25th March 2023 05:05 PM | A+A A-
Workers at a tea estate in Valparai, Tamil Nadu. (File Photo | S Senbagapandiyan, EPS)
KOLKATA: Leading planters body Indian Tea Association (ITA) said climate change is threatening the industry globally which is resulting in lower yields and a rise in production costs.
A spokesman of ITA said climate change is also threatening the long-term viability of the tea industry, which is also causing increasing pest infestations making pesticide residue management surfacing as a major challenge.
To mitigate this, ITA said that the industry needs to adopt a multi-faceted to address the climate change issue by way of sustainable farming practices and reduction in carbon footprint.
In this context, the association maintained the industry involving all the stakeholders to invest in research to come out with mitigating solutions.
There has also been a decline in rainfall and an increase in temperature in the tea-cultivating regions for the last several years, ITA said.
According to the association, future projections indicate a substantial reduction in the suitability of tea cultivation in areas where the crop is grown.
The other major area where work is needed to be done by the industry is that optimisation in the use of chemical fertilisers and greater use of renewable energy.
In the latest data compiled by Tea Board, production in January 2023 in the country was 13.43 million kilogrammes as against 16.22 million kilogrammes in the same month of last calendar year.
