Half of Darjeeling tea estates up for sale amid financial crisis, here's why

More than half of the tea estates in the Darjeeling hills are up for sale as planters are unable to run the operations smoothly in the absence of international buyers. Once known as the pearl of the tea industry in India, the tea estates made money from customers, coming from Europe and Japan. These buyers used to contribute substantially to the earnings of the tea planters.

Europe has restricted purchases

Europe, surrounded by the clouds of recession, has restricted purchases, despite being one of the top exporters for the Darjeeling tea. Japan, on the other hand, has had a stunted buying rate since 2017. The reason for the reduced buying was the agitation in the Darjeeling hills which resulted in the operations being halted for four months. Their scepticism about the supply issues still lingers.

‘Darjeeling industry is going through a financial crisis’

Addressing the crisis that the Darjeeling tea industry is currently going through, Anshuman Kanoria, a planter and the chairman of India Tea Exporters Association (ITEA), in an interview with The Economic Times, said, “The Darjeeling industry is going through a financial crisis. Nearly 40-50% of the gardens are looking for buyers. If they get fair prices, they will sell them. It is becoming difficult for them to run the show.”

The planters, both big and small, are mulling over selling it off for a good price. The small planters, who own single estates, are more keen to sell their gardens, while the big groups are resistant to the idea, according to the planters in the area.

Local real estate players are at the front line of buyers

There are a total of 87 estates in Darjeeling. The local real estate players are at the front line of buyers. These players are planning to convert the lands into resorts and kickstart tea tourism on these lands.

As per data, the tea industry of Darjeeling used to produce roughly 11 million kilograms of tea around 10 years ago. More recently, in 2021, the industry witnessed a substantial drop, bringing the production to 6.7 million kilograms. The industry, which now stands on feeble grounds, are reported to have 55,000 permanent workers.

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