Indian Testing Rules Halt Nepali Tea Trade as Darjeeling Brand Dispute Resurfaces

New Indian testing requirements on Nepali tea, imposed in mid-April and only partly eased since, have halted exports to Nepal's largest market and shut all 83 tea factories in the Ilam and Jhapa districts on June 18, the Nepal Tea Producers Association said.

India's Tea Board introduced mandatory laboratory testing for every consignment of Nepali tea starting May 1, requiring Indian importers to file detailed shipment data through the Tea Council portal and pay an application fee of 11,120 Indian rupees (about US$130) per sample, while officials collect two 500-gram samples for testing within 24 hours of the shipment reaching India. Results, classified pass or fail, can take up to 14 days. India relaxed the rule on May 20, shifting testing to random sampling and exempting tea sold domestically in India while keeping it for re-exports, but the association said many Indian buyers have stopped purchasing Nepali tea regardless, since the testing burden still falls on the Indian side of the transaction.

Nepal produces more than 27,000 tonnes of tea a year, about 8,000 tonnes orthodox and 19,000 tonnes CTC, and exports roughly Rs5 billion (about US$34 million) worth of it to India annually in an industry with an estimated Rs12 to 14 billion (roughly US$82 million to US$96 million) turnover and more than 60,000 direct jobs, the association said. As of the association's account, about 1,000 tonnes of tea sit stranded inside Nepal and a further 300 tonnes are held up in India. The sector contributes roughly Rs1 billion (about US$7 million) a year in government revenue, the association said.

The testing rules are the latest in a longer-running dispute over Nepali tea's access to India and its relationship to the Darjeeling brand. India first imposed 100% sample testing on Nepali tea in April 2024. Darjeeling's own output has fallen to about 6,000 to 6,500 tonnes a year, and the Darjeeling Tea Association has for years pressed Indian authorities to restrict Nepali imports, arguing they undermine the Darjeeling label; in June 2025, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called for tighter restrictions on the same grounds. Nepali industry figures counter that Darjeeling estates cannot meet global demand for the tea and that Nepali orthodox leaf, grown in adjoining hill districts with a similar cultivar and climate, is blended into product sold internationally as Darjeeling, a claim that has also drawn scrutiny from India's own Ministry of Commerce.

Nepal exported roughly 16 million kilograms of tea to India in 2024, according to Nepali trade figures, out of national orthodox and CTC production of about 27.5 million kilograms a year. Most of that volume crosses at the Mechi Customs Office, the main entry point for Nepali tea bound for India.

Sources: The Kathmandu Post, Trouble brewing for Nepali tea industry as exports to India remain halted; The Kathmandu Post, India's recurring barriers expose battle over Nepali tea and Darjeeling brand; The Kathmandu Post, Nepali tea exporters in hot water as India toughens import rules.