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Tea mills resume ops as DDC partially rolls back tax hike
Agitating tea mills have agreed to resume operation after the District Development Committee decided to partially roll-back the recently-hiked export tax on processed teaA meeting between the tea mills, tea farmers, DDC and other stakeholders on Friday reached an agreement to this effect. Mills had been refusing to purchase of green tea leaves from farmers for the last week and had given a 7-day ultimatum to the DDC to roll back the hike.
The DDC agreed to slash the export tax to Rs 1.50 per kg from Rs 2 per kg. Before hike, mills had been paying Rs 1 per kg as export tax.
As per the agreement, a tea development fund would be formed for an overall development of the tea sector and to make tea farms pesticide-free, or fully organic. A nine-member committee will be formed under the coordination of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce to
set up the fund. The DDC will contribute Rs 1 million to the fund initially.
The week-long closure of tea factories affected a large number of small green tea producers. The district produces 150 tonnes of green tea leaves daily during this season. “As we have been lobbying that the taxes raised from the tea industry should be invested for the development of the sector, the initiative to set up the fund is positive,” said Ashok Murarka of Ilam Tea Producers’ Association.
Annually, 35,000 kg tea is exported to overseas markets, while traders are forced to export rest of the tea to India at cheaper rates.
Ilam tea to go organic
After pesticide use put the Nepali tea industry at risk of losing international markets, tea producers, farmers and stakeholders from Ilam have agreed to make the district pesticide-free. Tea farmers, mills and representatives from the District Development Committee on Friday agreed to shift to organic tea. For this, a tea development fund has been proposed under which the DDC has decided to contribute Rs 1 million.