STiR coffee and tea magazine

26 STiR coffee and tea | 2023 Issue 2 (April / May) T By Aravinda Anantharaman he state of Assam in India's northeast is where the nation's tea industry began. India's first tea estate and first tea research station were established there during British colonial days and continue to operate today. As in the tea sector elsewhere in India, producers in Assam confront a long list of challenges: stagnant prices, rising costs, flat exports, labor shortages, increasingly harsh weather, and competition in the domestic market from an influx of low-cost Nepal tea. But Assam's industry has some advantages over other domestic origins. One is its long history, with an ample legacy of talent, workers, smallholders, estates, institu- tions, and other resources. Related to this is scale: Assam grows about 50% of India's tea. The local industry employs 1.15 million people, accounts for 90% of the state's exports, and drives the economy. State government duly lends a hand with special programs and measures. The latest industry support package was announced in March. This year's celebration of 200 years of the Assam tea industry looks back to 1823, when the British East India Company learned about the Camellia sinensis var assamica variety of the tea plant, which had long been harvested in the wild in parts of Assam. Over the next 100 years, the company turned Assam into the most important planta- tion area for tea in India. Indian Origin Update: Assam Readies for Another 200 Years in Tea Some 140 women and their families in Sivasagar District produce organic tea for Woolah Tea. Area 78,000 km2 Population 34.59 million GSDP* 2023/24 $69 billion GSDP growth 10.3% GDP/capita $1,500 Workers at tea estates 1 million Smallholders 150,000 Land under tea 347,000 ha Production in 2021 (kg) 700 million About half of India's tea is produced in Assam State, where 1,150,000 people work on large and small tea farms. Assam State at a Glance *Gross state domestic product. (Aadhar, Assam State gov.) Woolah Tea

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