What Is Brewing with Kangra Tea!!

Tea cultivation has been playing a pivotal role in the sustainable development of the Kangra Valley (in Himachal Pradesh, India). Due to unique local geographical conditions, the aroma and flavour of Kangra tea is different from the tea produced in other parts of India, which resulted in worldwide fame in the past. Kangra cooperative tea factory which was having high productivity is facing the problem of reduced productivity due to reduction in area for tea cultivation and number of farmers supplying raw material. Presently, it is passing through a difficult phase due to certain constraints which need immediate attention for the development of tea cultivation and industry in Kangra valley. The problem does not lie with the tea, but the manner in which it is being managed, processed and marketed within India. The case focuses on analysing the major constraints faced by different stakeholders of Kangra tea value chain and evolve strategy to regenerate and rejuvenate the lost glory of Kangra tea, especially with the increased usage of geographical indication (GI). Cooperative failures, unmarketed GI Label, high labour cost and labour availability problem, seasonal demand, lack of market availability and so on were some key issues identified during the study.