Nepal has been growing in tea exportation. However, India has been putting limits on Nepali tea imports for years. It is claiming worries over quality and pesticide levels. Nepali tea producers are looking for alternate export markets due to ongoing difficulties in selling tea to India. Nepal’s biggest market is India. Ilam district, one of Nepal’s main tea-producing districts, is at the leading edge of this change. As businesses look for new chances in Sri Lanka and Dubai. Nepal exports roughly Rs. 8 billion worth of tea every year. Ilam, Jhapa, Panchthar, Terhathum, and Dhankuta are the key tea-producing districts.
Nepali tea is famed for its quality, but entrepreneurs have failed to enter foreign markets and are now seeking possible alternatives to the Indian market. A group of Ilam tea entrepreneurs, led by Dilliram Shrestha of Suryodaya Tea Produce Pvt. Ltd., recently visited Kathmandu to discuss selling Nepali tea to Sri Lanka and Dubai.
The group, led by Suryodaya Municipality and Mayor Rana Bahadur Rai, met with UAE and Sri Lankan ambassadors to examine Nepali tea’s export potential. Both ambassadors indicated interest in supporting the process. Secretary of The Ministry of Finance Dinesh Kumar Ghimire and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amrit Bahadur Rai participated in the discussions with the diplomats, stated Kattel. The Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs pledged their assistance.
Sri Lanka is one of the top tea exporters. It gave insights into its export methods. When having conversations with Dubai centered on maximizing current trade opportunities. There was a discussion on how Nepal may gain direct access to this country, which buys millions of tonnes of tea. If there is the best way suited to the task – diplomatic initiatives” Rai suggested.
Nabin Koirala, tea technician at the Tea Expansion Plan of the National Tea and Coffee Development Board stated that out of 263 million kilos of orthodox tea produced in Nepal, only 6.75 million kilograms is produced in Ilam annually.
Currently, only 15% of Nepal’s tea is consumed domestically. Although the rest were transported to India and Europe. Despite these problems, tea consumption in Nepal is increasing. The business continues to rely primarily on exports, making it critical to identify new markets for long-term viability.
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