STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 33 ACTUATE ACTUATE * Don't Miss a Single STiRing Issue of the World's Leading Coffee and Tea Industry Magazine. ACTUATE a paid subscription to STiR (coffee and tea magazine) Visit www.stir-tea-coffee.com/subscribe Email info@octobermultimedia.com *SYNONYM: STiR, influence, inspire, propel, rouse, excite... w w w. s t i r - t e a - c o ff e e . c o m w w w. s t i r - t e a - c o ff e e . c o m slopes, at 900–2,600 meters (3,000-8,500 feet) above sea level, are well suited for the chinary tea varietals, producing a su- perlative tea. In 2007, the high-elevation orthodox tea from Nilgiris District, in the heart of the region, earned a geographical indication (GI) mark to protect its origin, joining a distinction shared only by As- sam, Kangra, and Darjeeling orthodox in the category of Indian tea. Vulnerabilities However, Nilgiris tea has long been over- shadowed by Darjeeling. Its undoing was growers' shift to large-scale production of CTC (cut, tear, curl) in the 1980s for export to markets in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Many small farmers were incentivized to grow tea, and since quantity was sought, quality was compro- mised. After the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, the Nilgiris region's tea sector began to struggle. CTC still dominates. In auctions in 2022, 123 million kilograms of the 136 million kg from the Nilgiris was CTC. Much of this CTC comes from small growers and bought-leaf factories. The region's total tea production in 2021 was 168 million kg, of which 107 million kg came from small growers. Large estates produced 61 million kg. The region con- tributed about 13% of the nation's total tea output of 1,300 million kg in 2021. Nilgiris tea fetches lower prices at auction than northern teas, both Darjeel- ing and Assam. In 2022, the average price for Nilgiris orthodox tea at auction was Rs 141 per kg while the average price for CTC was Rs 95 per kg. By comparison, Assam orthodox averaged Rs 284 per kg and Assam CTC 205 per kg. In 2022, when Sri Lanka faced its severe economic crisis, Nilgiris produc- ers believed that they could win market share from Ceylon tea. The two regions share some similarities in terroir because of their geographical proximity. Hopeful growers duly expanded their production of orthodox and reduced CTC. And in- deed, by mid-year, prices for well-made orthodox black teas from Nilgiris had risen substantially from the previous year. Yet Nilgiris growers could not reap the expected profits due to rising costs. One of the reasons, says MN Bopana, managing director, Craigmore Planta- tions (India) Pvt. Ltd., was disruption of supply chains. Because Nilgiris producers export much of their tea, they were hit by a huge rise in shipping costs, as much as tenfold for a container to Europe. The cost of shipment is not borne by buyers but by producers. Companies that had signed forward contracts on a cost and freight basis suffered huge losses. Compounding last year's bad luck in shipping costs, the Nilgiris market was hurt by Unilever's sale of its tea busi- ness to Ekaterra Tea in 2022. Brokers say that this reduced demand for broken orange pekoe fanning (BOPF) grade by nearly half. Tea Studio, a boutique tea factory in run by Muskan Khanna, makes whole leaf tea in small batches in the hill station of Coonoor. Photo: Aravinda Anantharaman Low prices at auction have a bad impact on the small growers, each cultivating less than 10 hectares, who produce more than half of the region's tea.

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