Development of Tea Industry in Himachal Pradesh :

Tea is  grown widely in India. There are many producers of tea, with the majority of the estates located in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Many of these estates produce very high quality teas and have earned a place for themselves in the international tea market. Himachal Pradesh boasts a large area of land dedicated to Tea estate. Numerous challenges over the last century have given rise to problems in Tea Industry.

Tea was first planted in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh by the British, and vast tea gardens (as the plantations are known) cover the gentle hills in and around Dharamsala and Palampur today. Tea has been cultivated and manufactured in the valley since the middle of the 19th century. In 1849 Dr. Jameson conducted a feasibly survey of the valley of Kangra in HP and found it suitable for tea cultivation. He brought China tea plants from the nurseries at Almora and Dehradun and planted them in Government gardens at Kangra, Nagrota and Bhawarna. Despite having suffered a good deal during transit the plants performed excellent in growth. This encouraged the government to go ahead for the establishment of tea industry in the valley. Kangra tea industry occupied prime position with respect to its quality from the last quarter of the 19th century to the third quarter of 20th century. Tea made in Kangra during this period was comparable with that of every part of the world.

Past and Present status :

Disaster stuck in 1905 when the Kangra Valley was devastated by a great earthquake, from which the tea region, in a sense, has never fully recovered. Tea factories lay in ruins, tea growing areas were destroyed, forcing European pioneer planters to make distress sales and leave the valley now perceived as unsafe, handing over the estates to either their workers or local traders. With the facilities for black tea production disrupted, green tea output became the norm – fortuitously, one may say, as the China variety tea leaves are eminently suited to the making of green tea. Over the years, Kangra green tea developed its own franchise, and was much in demand in Kashmir and Afghanistan till war and political strife took its toll in the late 20th century. Overland transit routes have been cut, and the tea trade dwindled even further after the tea auction center at Amritsar in the neighbouring state of Punjab went into liquidation in 2005. Quite unlike the organized tea planting that exists in Darjeeling, Assam and the Nilgiris, the Kangra tea district, which includes select areas of Chamba and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh, today literally survives against all odds. Dominated by small growers – 96% of growers have holdings of less than two hectares – tea growing here is more of a cottage industry. Labour is hard to come by, with much of the plucking done by migrant labour from the plains. Land holdings have fragmented over the years as families split up units as inheritance. Lower prices for tea have prompted growers to diversify their cultivation to include cash crops such as rice and potatoes and tea is seen as a side income.

Support for the industry came from the state government of HP which assisted in the setting up of four cooperative tea factories at Bir, Palampur, Baijnath and Sidhbari during the period 1964-1983. Since small growers lack the financial capacity to set up their own factories, they are encouraged to supply the green leaf to the coop factories, which process and market the made tea. Sadly, by year 2002, only the Palampur tea factory was functional, while the others shut down as operations became economically unviable.

Just when it seemed that Kangra would become a footnote in Tea history, the Tea Board of India stepped in to facilitate change. On the one hand, small growers were given financial assistance and training, and on the other hand, large growers were encouraged to invest in the region.

In 2003, the HP government leased the Sidhbari cooperative tea factory to the Singhs, who brought in professional supervision, and have now effectively managed a turnaround in operations.

The Baijnath cooperative tea factory was given on lease to Tewari and partners in March 2006, who are now marketing Kangra teas under the brand name ‘Himtea’. Other private tea enterprises have also seen positive growth over the last couple of years. Himalayan Enterprises Tea Factory, Raipur Tea Estate, P.O. Thakurdwara, Tehsil Palampur, Distt. Kangra produces the tea under the brand name “The HIMALAYAN BREW” which offers a complete line of specialty teas from a tea estate which is 150 years old. The company owns its own tea plantations, processing and blending unit. Green Buds Tea is inGopalpur (Himachal Pradesh)- Green Buds Tea Company was established in the year 1927 by Late Sh. Jai Lal Butail.

Remarkably, reasonable investments, care and nurture of tea gardens can achieve wonders, and between them, Manjhee Valley, Wah Tea Estate and the Dharamsala Tea Company, have proved that Kangra tea is indeed highly marketable.

Revival of tea in Himachal Pradesh  :

The Tea in Himachal Pradesh started gaining its momentum with the coming up of the following factories. Tea Board of India is also giving its support and assistance to uplift the Tea cultivation in Himachal Pradesh .

Palampur Co-operatives Tea Factory: The Palampur cooperative tea factory Ltd. started functioning on 1st April, 1980. The Factory covers the planters of Bhawarna and Panchrukhi block. State government, Tea federation of India and 379 Individual tea planters are the members of the society. The tea factory Palampur functions from mid April to end of October . It purchases tea leaf on the basis of grading system. Tea produced by Palampur co-operative tea factory is auctioned in Kolkata auction centre. Palampur co-operative tea factory also introduced new product like Himalayan garden fresh tea, orthodox black tea etc.

Manjhee Valley Tea Estate: Manjhee Valley Tea Estate is located at the Northern corner of India and is located in the state of Himachal Pradesh, and lies in the Kangra Valley. A garden which is more than 100 years old having the finest Chinese Variety of trees. This specifically as the garden was planted way back in 1860’s by the British who were trying to grow tea in this valley.The factory is well equipped where production is of 150,000 kilos of tea annually catering to various customers around the world. Manjhee Valley Tea Estate produces Orthodox tea, White Tea, Oolong Tea and Green Tea . Manjhee Valley is owned by Mr. Abhai Kumar Singh. With an experience of 45 odd years making exquisite tea in Darjeeling his attention is now to get Kangra tea/ Himachal Tea in the World Tea Map. To assist him and to look after the marketing of this tea, his son Mr. Kunal Singh joined him (Dr. D. K. Taknet).

Wah Tea Estate: Wah Tea Estate, with a continuous history of cultivation since 1857. The name Wah derives from Wah in Pakistan - the first owner was the Nawab of Wah. In 1953, the estate was taken over by the 'Chaiwala family'. 'Chaiwalas', which literally mean 'Tea planters', have been closely related with the Indian tea industry for atleast half a century. Wah has passed hands within the family and is now looked after by Deepak and Surya, the third and fourth generation of the family.

 Dharamshala Tea Company:  Dharamsala Tea Company was established in the year 1882. It was bought by great grandfather of Gurmeet Singh Mann the present fourth generation owner from the Britishers. Till the year 2004 green tea was produced in the factory. From 2005 on words they have shifted to black orthodox and other speciality tea like white tea, green tea and oolong tea. Teas are packed in the tins and cartons in the name of Mann Brand. They also directly export tea to European countries like Germany and France.

                             Considering the rich history of origin of Tea in Himachal Pradesh effort by the state government should be initiated for regaining the glory as this sector continues to be the major force for economic growth in state. The tea industry should be modernized with the change in technique of plantation, improvement of encouragement to electronic tea auction and managerial excellence. In near future this industry will on handsome revenue for state.