Peerumade Tea Industry Faces New Challenges

Rapid Summary

• Tea cultivation in Peerumade hills, Idukki, has a 150-year history but is currently struggling wiht declining estates and financial issues.
• The number of active tea estates dropped from 40 in the 1970s to 28 as of now.
• Workers face challenges due to unpaid salaries and halted operations at Haileyburia Tea Estates following labor union protests on August 7.
• several estates under different companies,including POABS group plantations,are closed or facing operational difficulties.
• Union leaders highlight unpaid wages and benefits as critical concerns; government intervention is sought to save jobs for thousands in the industry.
• Production dropped from an average of 2,000 kg per hectare annually in 1990 to around 1,600 kg now.
• Wage increases have far outpaced tea price growth since the ’90s; CTC tea prices rose approximately three times (₹40/kg to ₹116-121/kg), whereas wages increased by more then tenfold (₹26/day vs ₹482/day).

Indian Opinion Analysis

The crisis in Peerumade’s historic tea industry reflects broader structural challenges faced by India’s agricultural labor-intensive sectors amidst rising costs and stagnating product prices. The data underscores how wage inflation without proportionate growth in commodity pricing creates untenable pressures on industries dependent on manual labor like tea production. Additionally, declining output levels point towards productivity concerns that could stem from aging infrastructure or inadequate modernization efforts.

The call for government intervention highlights a meaningful socioeconomic issue: the livelihoods of thousands are intertwined with this sector’s survival amidst worsening operational dynamics between managements and workers’ unions over payments and benefits disputes. Any resolution will likely need balanced policy approaches combining financial support for modernization while ensuring fair compensation practices across planters’ associations.

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