Tea Board’s move to temporarily ban a planter for using excessive chemicals in its tea garden in Dooars had been hailed by planters, but has now been overturned.
NEW DELHI: The Commerce Ministry has overturned a decision by the Tea Board to ban a planter for three months for using excessive chemicals in its tea garden in Dooars in north Bengal.
Interestingly, the Kolkata-based Tea Board functions as a part of the Commerce Ministry. When the Tea Board had taken the decision, planters across India had hailed it as a pathbreaking move, ostensibly because some of the Indian teas were drawing flak at international markets for their high pesticide content.
This reporter has seen a copy of the order that reverses the decision of the Tea Board. As per the order, Ms Lotus Projects was found by officers of the Tea Board using excessive chemicals on tea leaves. The Tea Board had then canceled the registration of the company which has a huge plantation in Dooars in North Bengal registered as the New Chumta Tea Estate.
Officers of the Tea Board had found the tea substandard and not fit for sale in the domestic and international markets. Hectic lobbying happened in the precincts of the Commerce Ministry by promoters of New Chumta Tea Estate.
And then, the Commerce Ministry issued an order that read: “It is observed that suspension of plucking operation and factory for a period of three months by the Board is a severe action taken by the Board that violates the principle of proportionality.”
The Tea Board was asked to reverse its order and “study the matter afresh and to ensure compliance to the quality standards, prepare a schedule for regular inspection/sampling and testing of the tea manufactured by the Appellant Co. (cost of testing to be borne by the Appellant Co.) for a period of three months at laboratories of Tea Research”.
What was surprising is that the Commerce Ministry—while canceling the first order of the Tea Board – asked the Tea Board that it should take necessary action if there were issues of non-compliance with the new Chumta Tea Estate. Efforts to reach Krishan Kumar, joint secretary, plantation, who issued the order proved futile. The move by the Commerce Ministry has surprised many in the Indian tea market where, alarmed at developments in global markets that some of the tea consignment exported from India contain high chemicals, the Kolkata-based Tea Board had justifiably cracked the whip.
The Tea Board had sent out its men to take samples from various tea gardens across India and, subsequently, has banned a top tea estate in Terai, Darjeeling district for using chemicals that can cause cancer.
Documents received by this reporter showed that operations at the Chumta Tea Estate were suspended by the Tea Board for a period of three months, nearly 700 kg of tea destroyed because it contained high levels of Monocrotophos, not permitted for use in tea plantations by Food & Safety Standards Authority in India (FSSAI). Hence, Chumta Tea Estate was found violating the Tea Marketing Controlling Order, issued by the Commerce Ministry way back in 2003.
Documents accessed by this reporter show that the Tea Board officials conducted a sudden raid at Bansal Teas Warehouse on April 18, 2022 for carrying out sampling and seizure of suspected sub-standard tea for analysis on FSSAI parameters. And then, the samples were sent to the Quality Control Laboratory (QCL) for analysis.
“As per test report of New Chumta Tea Estate, the level of ‘Monocrotophos’ residue in the sampled tea has been detected to be 2.28 mg/kg. In this regard, it may be highlighted that use of Monocrotophos is not permitted for use in tea plantations and hence no MRLs have been specified in FSSAI for the same,” said the note by Tea Board. This reporter has a copy of the note.1
Top officials of the Chumta Tea Estate had been summoned by the Ministry for a hearing on July 12, 2022. Chumta Tea Estate owner, Dilip Aggarwal, who also owns Sourenee Tea Estate in Darjeeling, attended the meeting. The decision taken by the Ministry officials could have far reaching implications for the Chumta Tea Estate.
What is interesting is that this is the first violation detected by officials of the Tea Board. As more results of these surprise tests reach the Tea Board, there are chances that some more gardens could come under the Board’s radar. Planters in Darjeeling—home to some of India’s finest tea gardens—say it is time that the gardens turn organic.
If that is sorted out, Indian tea can create the perfect storm in the world market. But the recent decision of the Commerce Ministry has surprised many. India, the world’s second-largest producer, needed to send a strong signal to the global market.
Currently, it does not have the largest slice of the global tea pie. It is ranked fourth. Kenya leads the pack with 28 percent export of its produce, followed by China, the world’s largest producer (19 percent), then Sri Lanka (14 percent) and India (11 percent).
The Kolkata-based Tea Board has been trying hard to push the Commerce Ministry to hold nation-to-nation talks to market Indian tea. Planters across India know that tea – also considered a health product – is not just a widely loved beverage, it is a state of mind for millions of Indians. The Tea Board is working hard to connect planters in India with high-end buyers across the world, especially in Australia and South America.
And the presence of pesticides and chemicals beyond permissible limits could send a very wrong signal.
India exports its crush-tear-curl (CTC) grade mainly to Egypt and Britain, with the orthodox variety going to Iraq, Iran and Russia.
New generation planters have already labeled tea as the best option in the $1.5 trillion wellness segment. In fact, the planters in Darjeeling are lobbying hard to bring fusion tea under the Ministry of Ayush. If that works, Darjeeling tea, and its sizable section of fusion tea, could get a slice of the Rs 3,000 crore-plus Ayush budget.
The move by the Tea Board was seen by planters as a needed effort to check use of chemicals in the gardens. But some in the Commerce Ministry thought otherwise.