ILAM:- Nepali tea export is likely to face crisis with India imposing a new import rule of lab test.

India is the largest market for Nepal’s tea export and India is implementing from May 1 a new mandatory lab test rule for tea import from Nepal.

According to the new rule, tea of every container from Nepal should be tested in lab in India before imported there. In the past, lab test of a container tea would apply for other 10 containers, but now lab test is mandatory for every container and every entry time.

Gopal Kattel, tea entrepreneur and General Secretary of Suryodaya Tea Producers Association, it costs 11,500 Indian rupees for the lab test of a container and it takes 15 minutes for the report. As the tea should be either kept in the godown (warehouse) or the container during the test period, overall cost for tea export increases.

General secretary Kattel termed India’s step through the new rule as ‘undeclared blockade’ and said, “Such a situation is being created that no Nepali entrepreneurs can export tea to India. If there is problem in test, more test needs to done and with additional fee and tea could also be confiscated in the last condition.”

According to National tea and coffee development board, Nepal exports about 15, 600 metric tons of tea, and of that, 86% is exported to India.

Indra Adhikari, regional chief of the board, blamed India for blocking Nepali tea export in different excuses for many years. “Problem is getting serious this time around with the creation of formal obstruction in the name of lab test rule. Federal government can take initiatives to resolve in diplomatically.”