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Low yield of first-harvest tea may reduce supply of quality black tea in Darjeeling

Published: 2026-08-01 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/08/01, Darjeeling first-pick tea may be scarce this year as production of April or first brewed tea dropped to 660,000 kg from 920,000 kg in the same period last year, the best quality. This is due to a prolonged drought. Early picking, in most cases due to lack of cash, also damages quality. Darjeeling tea, for example, is Catch-22 of the season. High quality production requires

Darjeeling first-picked tea may be rare this year, as the output of April or first brewing tea dropped to 660000 kg from 920000 kg in the same period last year, which is of the best quality. This is due to the prolonged drought. Early picking, in most cases due to lack of cash, also causes damage to quality.

"take Darjeeling Tea as an example, this is the 22nd military rule of this season. High-quality production requires proper growth time of tea before picking. But gardeners who are cash-strapped will pick early, although some gardeners are clearly waiting for good quality, "Atul Asthana, managing director and chief executive of Goodrick, told FF. More than 35% of Darjeeling tea's annual sales revenue comes from a good first quarter. But this will not be the case this year, he says, because both sales and quality have declined.

The first picking of flowers in Darjeeling usually takes place between March and April, although some picking also takes place at the end of February. Compared with 1.28 million kg in the same period in 2019, production in this quarter is 50% lower at 660000 kg (the industry does not want to compare 2021 with 2020 due to the closure of gardens from December 2019 to mid-April 2020). Astana said that due to the impact of the first flush last year, most garden owners had limited cash, forcing growers to "strike a balance between cash flow and quality."

However, total production in West Bengal exceeded 18 million kg in April, compared with slightly more than 9 million kg in the same period last year. In March and April, the auction prices of the Jalpaiguri and Dinajpur varieties were Rs144and Rs163respectively, while those of the Darjeeling variety were Rs135and Rs157respectively.

The auction price for the leaf factory acquired by Assam in April was also higher than that in March, with an average of 185 rupees per kilogram and 142 rupees per kilogram. Indian auction prices rose to an average of 167 rupees per kilogram in April from an average of 137 rupees per kilogram in March.

The price of high-quality tea across the country will be found in a special auction at all auction centers this month, and the special edition picking (one bud and two leaves) supervised by the Tea Committee has been completed on International Tea Day, a tea committee official said. A member of the Darjeeling Tea Association said that although the price of the handmade Darjeeling tea variety may be much higher than the auction price because it is a private export, the trend towards ultra-high-quality tea in the global and domestic markets can be judged from the upcoming auction.

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