Tea Board makes import quality tests a must from May 1

Kolkata: To check the rampant import of tea, the Tea Board has directed that starting May 1, all import consignments of tea will be mandatorily tested to ensure quality. This will be done in accordance with standard operating procedure (SOP) advised by the board.India witnessed import of 39 million KG of tea in 2025, one of the highest in recent years. During Jan-Dec 2024, this figure stood at 45 million KG. The import of tea was mainly from Kenya, Nepal, Vietnam, Iran, UK, China, Argentina, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Tanzania, along with others countries.
The maximum came from Kenya. Indian Tea Association, along with small tea growers, has also been vocal about import of tea in recent years. Bijoy Gopal Chakraborty, president of Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Association (CISTA), welcome the new move. "We welcome the Tea Board directive along with the SOP. It will surely restrict the poor quality of non-FSSAI tea to enter India and the habit of re-export."There has been a major jump in tea export to Iraq and UAE. However, for the last couple of years, experts were saying that some of the imported tea was being blended for re-export.A parliamentary standing committee had earlier recommended that with increasing imports and risks of adulteration, stricter monitoring and transparency were essential. The committee recommended that Tea Board should enforce mandatory labelling and source declarations for all re-exported or blended teas.The committee also called for Customs-linked surveillance at ports and regular market audits and sample testing at retail points to help safeguard the reputation of Indian-origin tea and maintain consumer trust.