Dry spell hits tea first flush

VIVEK CHHETRI

Darjeeling, March 22: The Christmas Rain that Darjeeling missed this winter is threatening to pour cold water on the finest flush of tea this season. Planters fear that the toll of the parched winter would soon tell on the crop, pushing down production of the first flush — the most expensive category — by nearly 50 per cent below normal. If the dry weather continues, a further dip in April is not ruled out. A double-edge cloud curse is also hanging over the hills — the moisture-laden curtains are blocking much-needed sunshine and floating away before rain could fall. The expected yield in the two-month-long first flush is around 1.5-2 million kg or 20 per cent of the total produce in a normal year, said Sandeep Mukherjee, the principal adviser to the Darjeeling Tea Association (DTA). Planters said that in 2009-10, when the production of Darjeeling tea had come down to an all-time low of 7.96 million kg, the hills had received 3.8mm of rain in December. This time, there was no rain in December, essential for the first flush and fondly called the Christmas Rain. In the mid-90s, Darjeeling used to produce nearly 13 million kg of tea a year. The plucking of the first flush starts from February-end and continues till April-end. “The production till now is nearly 50 per cent lower than the average at this time of the year because of the lack of rain. There is little hope of improvement as the plucking of the first flush will come to an end in another month,” Mukherjee said. He said there might be a marginal improvement or a further dip in production depending on the weather over the next one month. Rainfall did improve in January but February drew a blank. This month, the hills received 3.1mm in three days till yesterday, the DTA said. “Apart from rain, the leaves need sunshine to grow faster. This year, the hills have experienced several cloudy days. But unfortunately, the clouds are passing away and we are not getting the much-needed showers,” Mukherjee said. The industry is also worried that rain in the hills has been erratic and not evenly spread. “The hills are receiving almost 20 per cent less rainfall during winter compared with showers 20 years ago,” Mukherjee added. Tea officials said the industry largely survived on first flush sales. “Almost 80 per cent of the first flush is exported. It gets the highest prices,” a planter said. The prices vary from estate to estate. According to a Darjeeling-based planter and manager of one of the largest gardens in the hills, the first flush prices usually rule between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000 a kg.(Telegraph)