Lockdown results in huge loss to tea estate

Kathmandu - Kiran Paudyal With the enforcement of lockdown order to contain the further spread of coronavirus infection, the tea estates in Ilam district have lost a sizable income in the peak season to pluck the first flush. The farmers could neither take the tea leaves for processing nor do they supply the processed tea to the market.

The first flush, which gets readied from the beginning of April, is considered as the best quality tea leaves with more market and values. This year the farmers could not pluck the high-quality first flush due to lockdown, incurring a huge loss to the farmers and factories, proprietor of Jasbire Tea Processing Center Sarad Subba of Ilam Municipality-4 said. We could not supply the tea despite there was a demand from the third countries, he bemoaned.