After the return of wheat consignment now Countries are returning tea leaves. Both international and domestic buyers have returned consignments of Indian tea as the number of pesticides and chemicals exceeded the permissible limit. Indian Tea Exporters Association (ITEA) President Anshuman Kanoria gave this information on Friday. Significantly, due to the circumstances arising in Sri Lanka, the export of tea from there has decreased, which the traders of India are trying to take advantage of.
However, due to the rejection of the consignments, there is a decline in the export shipments now. Talking to the news agency, Kanoria said that the tea sold in the country should be as per the norms of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) but the chemical content in the tea that most of the buyers are buying is unusually high.
In 2021, India exported 19.59 crore kg of tea. Its major buyers last year were the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nations and Iran. The board aims to achieve the target of exporting 300 million kg of tea this year. India exported tea worth Rs 5,246.89 crore in 2021. Kanoria said that many countries are following strict entry rules for tea. He said that most countries follow variations of the EU standards which are more stringent than the FSSAI rules. According to Kanoria, “Instead of following the law, many people are urging the government to further liberalize the FSSAI norms.” He said it would give a wrong signal as it is seen as a health drink.
A senior official of the Tea Board has said that complaints have been received from tea packers and exporters on this issue. He said, “It is reiterated that the producers should strictly follow the extant FSSAI norms. The issue of revision of norms has been taken up by producers’ associations with FSSAI. It is clear that exports must comply with the existing norms of the importing countries.
