Assam tea farms grapple with climate shocks and a mounting labor shortage

In upper Assam, a severe storm followed by weeks of flooding ruined more than 50 tea gardens, leaving workers like Bidesh Kamar and Sumitra Tanti facing heightened job insecurity. The region, responsible for about 52% of India's tea and employing roughly 700,000 plantation workers and 140,000 small growers, is seeing margins shrink as oversupply depresses prices and input costs rise. Owners such as Sanjiv Gogoi note falling productivity and a growing exodus of staff who say wages no longer cover living costs.

Climate pressures—including regular temperatures of 36-40 °C and emerging pests—are cutting yields, while labor now represents roughly 60% of production expenses, prompting unions to demand higher daily pay. Experts from the North Eastern Tea Association warn that the loss of skilled pickers threatens tea quality, and veteran planter Harkirat Singh Sidhu argues that mechanization and regenerative farming are becoming essential to keep the industry afloat.