Kathmandu, May 10: Tea exports, one of Nepal’s top ten export items, have come to a complete standstill for the past eight days after India introduced stricter laboratory testing requirements on imports from Nepal.
The disruption began after the Indian government enforced a new rule from April 18 (May 1, 2026), making 100 per cent lab testing mandatory for all tea shipments entering from Nepal. The move follows recommendations from an Indian parliamentary committee aimed at strengthening monitoring and regulation of tea imports from various countries.
Under the revised system, every consignment of Nepali tea must now undergo full testing before clearance. Earlier, shipments were processed under a risk-based inspection system, allowing faster clearance for exporters. With the new rule, each batch is subject to individual testing.
Indian authorities have said the measure is intended to block substandard tea from entering their market and tighten import quality control. However, Nepali exporters say the change has created heavy financial pressure and operational delays, severely affecting the flow of trade.
Officials from the Ministry of Industry acknowledge that the additional conditions imposed by India are directly impacting Nepal’s tea exports. The sector is already facing disruption as products fail to reach markets on time.
Industry representatives have raised concerns that the stricter system is pushing the sector into crisis. Former president of the Nepal Tea Producers Association, Suresh Kumar Agrawal, said exporters have been struggling for the past 10 days as every truck now requires separate lab testing.
He explained that samples from each shipment must be sent to official laboratories in Kolkata or Siliguri, with test results taking 10 to 15 days. During this period, the tea cannot be sold or cleared for export, adding further financial burden on traders.
Exporters say the loss of earlier facilitation measures has slowed down the entire supply chain, leaving the industry under growing stress.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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