the First Flush harvest is prized worldwide but increasingly vulnerable to erratic weather.
India's Tea Exports Cross $988 Million — But Darjeeling's Gardens Are Fighting a Different Battle
While India posted record tea exports this year, Darjeeling estates are losing First Flush quality to erratic weather and losing workers to migration
India's tea industry hit a strong milestone this year. According to Tea Board of India data cited by IBEF, the country exported tea worth US$ 988.13 million between April 2025 and March 2026 — roughly 239.51 million kg shipped to 151 countries. India remains the world's second-largest tea producer and its largest producer of black tea, with total production for the year touching 1,382.74 million kg across 6.19 lakh hectares under cultivation. Nearly 80% of what India grows is consumed at home, which is part of why the industry stays stable even when export markets wobble.
West Bengal's contribution comes from three regions — Dooars, Terai, and Darjeeling — alongside Assam's Assam Valley and Cachar belts and the roughly 17% of national output grown in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. Of the three, Darjeeling is the smallest by volume but the most recognised by name. IBEF's own summary lists Assam, Darjeeling, and Nilgiri teas together as among the finest in the world, and Darjeeling's geographical indication tag has done more for the region's global reputation than its share of India's tea output ever could on its own.
That reputation is exactly what's under strain on the ground. Estate owners across the Darjeeling hills have been reporting an unusually dry winter this year, and erratic rainfall patterns are being blamed for a difficult First Flush harvest — the early-spring pluck that carries the most prestige and commands the highest prices of any Darjeeling tea. Climate change is making these swings harder to plan around season to season, and growers say the risk isn't just to this year's yield but to the distinctive flavour that justifies Darjeeling tea's premium in the first place.
The pressure isn't only climatic. In estate communities like those around Margaret's Hope, workers and elders describe a familiar pattern: young people leaving for other work, and the women who remain on the gardens absorbing both the labour and the wage disputes that come with a shrinking workforce. A tea garden without pluckers is a tea garden that can't capitalise on demand, no matter how strong the export numbers look nationally.
There is government support aimed at exactly this gap. The Tea Board's Tea Development and Promotion Scheme, running through 2026, includes components for small tea farmer development, worker welfare, and a dedicated action plan for northeastern production areas — alongside a separate scheme reimbursing up to 25% of the cost of promotional campaigns and international marketing for Indian-origin packaged tea. What isn't clear from the national data is how much of that support is actually reaching individual Darjeeling estates and the workers on them, as opposed to the industry in aggregate.
That's the gap worth watching. Darjeeling tea's name carries far more weight globally than its volume alone would suggest — which means the health of a comparatively small number of hillside estates matters disproportionately to how "Indian tea" is perceived worldwide. Strong national export figures are good news for the industry as a whole, but they don't automatically translate into a stable season for a garden fighting a dry winter, or a fair wage for a worker doing the job her neighbours moved away from.
Have a tip on this story?
WhatsApp Khabar Darjeeling at our channel or email nowanad@gmail.com. Your identity will be protected.
© 2026 Khabar Darjeeling
By Adhar limbu
All rights reserved. Content may not be reproduced without permission.