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Orthodox tea from Nepal rules the international roost
DHANKUTA, JUN 23 -
Tea growers in Ilam and Dhankuta have planned an integrated project to increase production of orthodox tea in response to surging demand in the international market.
Orthodox tea is mostly grown in the eastern hills of Ilam, Panchthar, Dhankuta and Terhathum. It is produced without using chemical fertilizers.
The Agriculture Research Centre, Pakhribas, approved the project during a national level meeting organized on the theme Integrated Management of Orthodox for its Sustainability.
On the occasion, Nilam Subba, a tea expert, unveiled her research findings on the potential of orthodox tea that defines the importance of Nepali tea, its growing market and Nepal’s prospects in attracting international buyers.
Orthodox tea accounts for 15-20 percent of the country’s total tea production. The climatic conditions in the eastern hills are ideal for the production of high quality orthodox tea.
Tea experts and growers of Ilam and Dhankuta have urged promotion of orthodox tea to benefit from the opportunities in the foreign market.
Subba said that international buyers preferred orthodox tea and Nepali producers have greater opportunities to export orthodox tea in the future.
She added that Germany had recently returned a shipment of Nepali tea with the complaint that its quality was poor, which had discouraged tea growers. Demand for orthodox tea has soared in Germany, Japan, the US, India and Australia.
“If growers want to benefit from the huge demand in these countries, they must ban the use of chemical fertilizers totally,” Subba said.
Because of the premium prices paid for orthodox tea, 90 percent of it is exported; and it has been an important source of foreign exchange and income for many farmers in the eastern hills.
Dhankuta and Ilam started producing orthodox tea about 15 years ago. However, tea growers said that it was a challenging task producing tea without using chemical fertilizers. They said that it took a long time to produce tea using compost compared to chemical fertilizers.
Dil Bahadur Shrestha, a tea grower in Sankhuwasabha, said that demand was high in foreign markets and low in the domestic market. “Growing orthodox tea takes time, and relying on the international market for sales is challenging,” he added.
Madhav Niroula, another grower, said that although production took time, the output was of a superior class. Growers said that if there was government support for the project, it would be a huge boost for the farmers.
Anup Lal Sah, chief of the Agriculture Development Office, said that there was a need to produce compost fertilizers to help boost orthodox tea output. He added that other districts should also be encouraged to produce orthodox tea.
Posted on: 2010-06-24 08:14
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