Tea Producers Dismiss Claims of Failed Tests as ‘Attempt to Discredit’ Nepali Tea

Nepali tea producers have dismissed reports that more than half of Nepali tea samples submitted to a court in Kolkata failed laboratory tests, calling the claims a misinformation campaign aimed at discrediting Nepali tea and pushing for trade restrictions in India.

Indian media last week reported that 22 out of 43 samples of Nepali tea had failed laboratory tests, citing data submitted by India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) to a Kolkata court. Nepali producers, however, say the claims are misleading and do not reflect the actual quality of tea exported from Nepal.

Tea exported from Nepal is allowed to enter India only after clearing quality tests at Indian customs, producers said. Most Nepali tea is purchased by Indian traders, and once shipments cross the border, samples are taken and tested before clearance. If a consignment fails the test, it is either sent back to Nepal or forwarded for a second test, and is not allowed to enter India, they said.

“The claim that Nepali tea failed quality tests is baseless,” said Shiva Kumar Gupta, vice-chairperson of the Nepal Tea Producers Association. “If Nepali tea had failed laboratory tests, it would not have been allowed to enter India in the first place.”

Gupta said the samples cited in court were most likely taken from Indian warehouses where tea from multiple sources is stored and blended. “Some Indian traders store tea from different origins together. If a blended sample fails a test, it is wrong to label it as Nepali tea,” he said.

He added that a section of Darjeeling-based traders has long opposed Nepali tea, as Nepali products now compete strongly with Darjeeling tea in terms of quality. “Last year, only one Nepali tea sample initially failed a test, and it passed after retesting. Claims that 22 samples failed are completely unfounded,” Gupta said.

Under current procedures, once Nepali tea reaches the Panitanki customs point in India after crossing Mechi Customs at Kakarbhitta, samples are tested in a laboratory. If the sample passes, up to 20 truckloads from the same lot are allowed to enter India. Tea that fails the test is denied entry, Gupta said, adding that this clearly shows the samples presented before the court were not taken from the border.

General Secretary of the Nepal Tea Producers Association, Shukra Dahal, also said the controversy is based on a court petition rather than actual trade disruptions. “Nepali tea enters India only after passing tests and therefore the responsibility lies with the Indian authorities once the tea shipments enter India. If our tea had failed, Indian buyers would have complained or bargained with us to push down the prices. That has not happened,” he said.

Dahal alleged that Nepali tea was being unfairly targeted by mixing it with tea from other sources in Indian warehouses. “This is an attempt to discredit Nepali tea,” he said.

According to Gupta, the Indian Tea Board has eased testing requirements after Nepali tea was moved out of the “high-risk” category, as tea is consumed after boiling. Under the revised system, retesting is required every six months. Previously, samples from every truck had to be tested.

Data from Mechi Customs Office, Kakarbhitta, show that Nepal exported tea worth Rs 3.17 billion, totalling 13.47 million kilograms, to India in fiscal year 2023/24. In fiscal year 2024/25, exports rose to Rs 4.21 billion, amounting to 15.42 million kilograms.

However, exports declined in the first four months of the current fiscal year compared with the same period last year. Tea exports through Mechi stood at Rs 2.20 billion (8.06 million kg) in the first four months of 2024/25, compared with Rs 1.37 billion (4.69 million kg) in the same period of the current fiscal year.

India accounts for about 90 percent of the market for Nepal’s CTC tea, while orthodox tea is exported to around two dozen countries, including India, the United States, China and several European nations. Mechi Customs officials said Nepali tea exports have not been halted. “Nepali tea is being exported smoothly, as before,” a customs official said.

About 99 percent of Nepal’s tea production is exported, mainly to India, the United States, Japan and China.

According to the National Tea and Coffee Development Board, tea is cultivated on about 27,500 hectares of land in Nepal. The country has 68 large tea estates, 930 orthodox tea processors, 38 CTC processing units, and more than 150 small orthodox processing industries in operation.