Business»
Tea factories choked by leaf surfeit
ILAM, AUG 10 -
Tea factories in the eastern part of the district producing orthodox tea are seeing a glut of tea leaves following the closure of tea processing factories in Jhapa. Factories in Jhapa have been shut down due to an intensifying dispute between tea entrepreneurs and farmers.
A source at Ilam Tea Producers in Aitabare stated that the farmers had been pressurizing the factory to buy more green tea leaves than it could process.
Hari Timsina, manager of Ilam Tea, said the factory was collecting 18,000 kg of tea leaves daily compared to its usual intake of 9,000 kg to 10,000 kg per day.
Farmers in the district, who used to sell their tea leaves to tea factories in Jhapa, are also facing problems. They have been selling their harvest to tea factories in Jhapa as they offer higher prices than tea factories in Ilam. Farmers have lost daily sales of 12,000 kg of tea leaves after Parajuli Tea Industries, a producer of orthodox tea in Jhapa, was closed. Similarly, they are unable to sell more than 10,000 kg of tea leaves daily to CTC tea factories in Jhapa following the closure of more than half a dozen factories.
Local tea factories have been purchasing green tea leaves for Rs. 22 per kg this season.
Two other tea factories in Fikkal have stopped purchasing tea leaves from the last few days because of the overwhelming pressure from farmers to buy their products.
Lately, an increase in production has also compelled many farmers of the district to sell their products to tea factories in Jhapa.
Posted on: 2010-08-11 07:55
Headlines
Advertisements
