Lockdown has brought down tea production in the Nilgiris, the largest tea growing district in the South.
Tea companies in the Nilgiris have informed the Tea Board that their production in April was lower than last year as also below the five-year mean average for the month.
Tea production in April dropped to 0.97 million kg (mkg) from 1.26 mkg in April 2019, marking a decline of as much as 23.02 per cent.
The fall was sharper when compared with the 1.49 mkg five-year mean average for April, a fall of as much as 34.90 per cent.
This happened because planting operations came to a halt since mid-March following the declaration of lockdown. However, estates and factories started operating with minimal workforce and for limited hours a few days later when the government allowed operations treating tea as an essential food item and agricultural operation.
To begin with, estates had to discard the overgrown leaves and wait for fresh shoots to come to bearing stage.
But by that time, dry summer weather conditions set in, limiting the volume of harvest. Consequently, the volume of manufactured tea also declined.
Collectively, in the four months, tea production in the Nilgiris dropped to 3.95 mkg from 4.12 mkg, marking a decline of 4.13 per cent.
The fall was much more compared to the normal level of 4.31 mkg as measured by the five-year mean output for the four months, a decline of 8.35 per cent.
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