The Tea Board of India has issued an order notifying the dates of commencement of plucking or receiving of green leaves for all tea factories for 2024. This order was issued on January 24, 2024.
It may be recalled that the Licensing and Registering Authority of the Tea Board had mandated the last date of plucking or receiving of green leaves for the season ending in December 2023. This was in line with the winter dormancy of the tea bushes.
A New Season of Teas
Now, the next cropping season of the year 2024 will begin and tea bushes will start producing new tea leaves or buds. Therefore, the plucking of tea leaves and manufacturing of tea will be commenced once again for this cropping season.
In view of this, the tea board has contemplated the suggestions and feedback of various industry stakeholders. The Tea Board has, therefore, stipulated the following dates to commence the tea manufacturing for all tea factories in accordance with the natural cropping pattern of tea bushes:
| Serial Number | Plantation Regions | Date of Implementation |
| 1 | Dooars, Terai & Bihar | Monday, February 12, 2024 |
| 2 | Darjeeling Hills & Sikkim | Friday, March 1, 2024 |
| 3 | Himachal Pradesh | Friday, March 8, 2024 |
| 4 | Uttarakhand | Friday, March 8, 2024 |
Exemptions To Commencement Dates
The certain specified tea cultivators can seek exemptions from complying with these commencement dates.
The following cultivators can seek such exemption:
- gardens that have adopted pruning
- gardens that have adopted non-traditional cultivation practices and expect early crops
- manufacturers of:
- orthodox teas
- green tea and
- specialty teas
This exemption can be availed by applying to the respective office of the Tea Board. The authorized officers may issue exemptions after field verifications and intimations to the Head Office of the Board.
Additionally, prior to the grant of such exemptions the officers will scrutinize the pruning practices, irrigation facilities and early rain patterns to detect flushing patterns.
Hence, all concerned tea manufacturers and tea factories are urged to strictly comply with the notified commencement dates.
