The unrest in Darjeeling after police firing on Gorkhaland protesters has got the tea industry extremely worried. The first flush production is barely a month away and the tea industry fears profitability will be severely hit if the stalemate continues.

Besides the loss of face — and production — producers are also afraid that the unrest may boost sales of tea from Nepal which is now growing crop similar to that of Darjeeling tea.

C S Bedi, chairman of Indian tea Association, said, ?It could get very bad if the stalemate continues in the hills. The first flush production is barely a month away and we hope that it settles down soon.?

Darjeeling, the highest revenue earner for the tea industry in the country, produces an average of 9 million kgs per year. While 20% of that is produced during the first flush season, it fetches 30-40% of the revenue.

Sandip Datta, secretary of the Darjeeling Tea Association, said, ?the district has been facing political unrest and frequent strikes since last year which has hampered pruning in many gardens. In fact, pruning is yet to be completed in a few gardens.? Many of the gardens in Darjeeling have bushes which are old and need a thorough pruning before the new leaves come up.

Meanwhile, forward contract would also get impacted if the stalemate continues in the state. Tea gardens in Darjeeling have two kinds of contracts?early productions and standard. In the first kind of contract the buyer books certain amount of tea from the first plucking. In case of the latter, the buyer places a blanket order from the first flush.

?Both contracts could get disrupted if the stalemate continues as the buyers in the international market are closely watching the situation,? an industry insider said.

?We are extremely concerned about the damage being done to exports as well as the image of Darjeeling. It’s too premature to comment on the losses. But it will create a havoc if the stalemate continues,? said Anshuman Kanoria, chairman of the Indian Merchant Tea Exporters’ Forum.

According to him, Darjeeling has been hit by the drought-like condition in last two years and any setback this year will be damaging.

Meanwhile, producers are also afraid of Nepal tea getting a boost in the market due to stalemate in Darjeeling. Riding on the increase in prices for the Darjeeling crop, tea from the neighbouring country fetched good prices last year and was sold at price points 10% below the medium range of Darjeeling tea. ?Although Nepal tea cannot duplicate the top quality Darjeeling crop but it will definitely get a boost if such a situation continues in the hills,? said Kanoria.

According to ITA’s Bedi, weather this year has been better than last year and there was some rainfall during January. According to met-office there are chances of little more rainfall by end of this month,? Bedi added.