- Over 100 tea factories in Nepal have closed due to export delays to India, halting production across Ilam, Jhapa, and other major districts.
- Indian regulatory hurdles and testing delays have paralyzed the supply chain, affecting both organic exporters and large-scale tea producers.
- Local farmers are facing severe financial losses as harvested tea leaves go to waste because factories cannot process or export their products.
- The tea industry is urging the government to expedite diplomatic negotiations with India to stabilize export routes and protect thousands of jobs.
Kathmandu, Nepal: Nepal’s tea heartland is going through a difficult moment, as prolonged delays in exporting tea to India have forced dozens of factories to shut down and left farmers watching their harvest go to waste.
The government says it has begun urgent diplomatic talks with India to address new regulatory hurdles affecting Nepali tea exports. But on the ground, tea producers say the situation is only getting worse, with little relief in sight.
Across major tea-producing districts such as Ilam, Jhapa, Panchthar and Bhojpur, production has come to a standstill. According to the Tea Alliance of Nepal (TAN), at least 16 member factories in different districts have already shut down. In Ilam alone, around 79 factories have closed, while Jhapa has seen about 30 more halt operations in recent days.
What worries many in the industry is that the shutdown is not limited to smaller units. Even certified organic tea processors and exporters targeting international markets have been forced to stop production, showing how deeply the disruption has affected the entire supply chain.
Tea entrepreneurs say they feel they have no choice but to keep factories closed until exports are made smooth again.
“We are watching tea being wasted every single day,” said entrepreneur Gyanu Subba. “We have raised the issue several times with top government officials, but nothing concrete has come out of those discussions.”
Subba said meetings have already been held with the Prime Minister and senior ministers, but the concerns of the industry still remain unresolved.
As the shutdown stretches into its fourth day, frustration is growing among factory owners, who warn that losses are piling up quickly and more units are joining the closure every day. They are urging the government to take stronger diplomatic steps to reopen and stabilize export routes.
For farmers, the situation is even more painful. Many say they are forced to leave freshly picked tea leaves unused because factories are not buying them.
Farmer Bed Prasad Acharya described the hardship in simple terms: “People are struggling to manage even daily meals. Hundreds of kilos of green leaves are being wasted. Even if factories restart now, the price will not be the same again.”
In Ilam, farmers and entrepreneurs jointly submitted a memorandum to the government through the Chief District Administration Office, asking for urgent action to resolve the export problem. Chief District Officer Laxman Dhakal said the concerns have been forwarded to federal authorities.
At the same time, the Nepal Freight Forwarders Association has raised concern over growing delays in the Indian market. It says Nepali tea shipments are being held in warehouses for long periods due to testing and customs procedures, slowing down the entire export process.
The association warns that this is not just a trade delay but a disruption affecting production, transport, and livelihoods across the sector.
It also noted that Nepal’s tea industry supports around 120 related industries and provides jobs to tens of thousands of workers, making the current crisis a serious economic concern.
As uncertainty continues, stakeholders are urging the government to act quickly at the diplomatic level before the losses become long-term and harder to recover.
