Darjeeling’s distinctive flavoured tea has been the region’s major economic draw. Some premium varieties include Silver Tips Imperial, Moonlight Tea, and First Flush. It became the first product in India to receive Geographical Indication (GI) status in 2004, granting legal protection to local industry and ensuring its distinct identity. 87 tea gardens in Darjeeling are listed with GI status. These tea gardens – spread across the sub-regions of Darjeeling, Kurseong, Mirik, and Kalimpong – are owned by the Government of West Bengal, and can be sold or given on lease for about 30 years or more (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Teascape in the Eastern Himalayas as a Cross-border System from its Earliest Expansion
Source: Prepared by the author (2025)
This study forms part of the author’s doctoral thesis. Data on production and wage rates and were collected from the Darjeeling Tea Association and J. Thomas & Company Private Limited, Kolkata. Primary data was collected through a combination of in-depth interviews and interactions, among tea plantation managers, trade union leaders, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration members, an officer of the Land Reform Department, and focus group discussions with labourers during a field survey in 2024-25.
The study reveals that despite its global recognition and historical legacy, Darjeeling tea faces a multitude of challenges. The industry suffers from decline in yield, rising costs of production, growing global competition from Nepal tea, and misuse of the Darjeeling brand name in international markets. These challenges have reduced competitiveness, profitability and financial stability of many tea gardens. As a result, many have either closed or are on the verge of closure, adversely affecting labourers.
Production and Supply
Tea plantation managers reported that tea gardens have been facing high production costs, declining output, ageing bushes, and related issues like reinvestments and replantation. Total tea production in Darjeeling has declined from 14.5 million kgs in the 1990s to merely six million kgs by 2023 (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Production of Darjeeling Tea (1990-2023)
Source: Computed by the author using data collected from J Thomas & Company Private Limited, Kolkata (1990-2023).
Competition from National and International Growers
Tea garden managers and trade union leaders state that the future of Darjeeling tea is uncertain and seemingly dark. The tea faces stiff competition from other tea-growing regions in India and abroad – Assam, Kerala, and Sikkim, as well as Kenya, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. The managers stated that political instability in the Darjeeling Hills in 2017, due to the renewed Gorkhaland agitation, resulted in significant disruptions to production and supply, leading to the loss of a major share of its global buyers.
Many international consumers have turned to Nepalese tea, which is comparable in quality owing to similar geography and climatic conditions. Moreover, Nepalese tea is much cheaper due to lower production costs, making it more affordable both in Indian and international markets. Reports of Nepalese tea being mixed and marketed as Darjeeling tea have also affected the latter’s authenticity and challenged the viability of its GI status.
Unceasing Labour Precarity
The labourers in Darjeeling’s tea gardens have been impacted financially by the brand’s decline. No minimum wage is earmarked for the workers. They are paid Rs.250 daily, including Rs.9 for rations (see Table 1). Of this, Rs.30 (12 per cent) is deducted for the provident fund.
According to the workers, the prevailing remuneration structure did not cover their basic needs.
Women labourers, who form the bulk of the workforce, also face harassment at worksites. It needs to be noted that positions of munshi (clerk), baidar (field supervisor), manager, and other higher posts are held by male workers.
Rising inflation, lack of land rights, and the loss of previous in-kind statutory benefits exacerbate the difficulty of workers’ living conditions. Many workers rely on alternative sources of income to supplement their earnings, such as cattle rearing, growing vegetables or broom grass, and small businesses through Self-Help Groups, apart from taking loans. Younger labourers are increasingly relocating to other Indian cities and West Asia and becoming blue-collar workers.
Table 1: Daily Wage Rates (in Rs.)
Period
Daily Wage Rates (in Rs./day)
Growth Rate of Wages (%)
2000
37.8
-
2005
48.4
28.04
2010
67
38.43
2015
122.5
82.84
2020
202
64.90
2022
232
14.85
2023
250
7.76
Source: Computed by the author from unpublished data collected from Darjeeling Tea Association (2020), Golay (2021), and News Daily (2022 & 2023).
Picture 1
Women workers in the Darjeeling tea gardens
Source: By the Author, December 2024
Government Policies and Institutions
Various government policies are also compounding the crisis in the tea industry. The lack of import restrictions between Nepal and India has led to weakened local distribution. Further, the state government has allowed 30 per cent of the tea garden area to be used for commercial or tourism purposes. This policy has created insecurity and vulnerability for those labourers without land rights despite living and working in these tea gardens for more than six generations. Trade union leaders in their interviews stated this had affected the labourers’ sense of belonging.
Meanwhile, the Darjeeling Tea Research and Development Centre (DTRDC), in Kurseong, which was established with the objective of advancing scientific research in the Darjeeling tea sector has very few staff. Currently, they comprise one in-charge, two scientific officers, three contract scientists, and one factory assistant. The institution is in a poor condition, with inadequate infrastructure, poor living conditions, and lack of financial support from the government. According to one of the institute’s scientific officers, there were currently no active projects or advanced research in the tea industry.
Picture 2
Darjeeling Tea Research and Development Centre
Source: By the Author, January 2025
Conclusion
Darjeeling tea is at a tipping point, requiring intervention from the government in the form of investments and safeguard measures. Promoting blended teas and new tea variants will help maintain competitiveness in both regional and global markets. Ensuring statutory minimum wages and better working conditions will help to reduce labour absenteeism and out-migration. Institutions like DTRDC need to be supported, along with encouragement for collaboration among similar tea research institutions and associations. Tea museums, digital marketing, and other initiatives employing the younger generation also need to be incentivized.
Further, the livelihood of the labourers can be diversified by providing land for cultivation and encouraging local organic produce, promoting animal husbandry and dairy products, forestry, and region-specific floriculture. Innovation in tea types and diversification of livelihood are some of the ways forward for the sustainability of Darjeeling tea.
About the Author: Dixchen Golay is a PhD scholar from the Department of Geography, Sikkim University.
