Dibrugarh: Assam’s bought-leaf factories may stop accepting green leaves from Aug 3 over pesticide-residue concerns.The Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers’ Association (ABLTMA) on Tuesday said the suspension would apply unless small growers certify their produce is free of banned and unauthorised pesticides. The measure will be enforced only if talks with Assam govt, the Tea Board and growers’ associations fail to yield a solution before Aug 3.President Chand Gohain said FAITTA would retest auctioned tea and return consignments exceeding maximum residue limits, possibly seeking refunds.ABLTMA said efforts by stakeholders reduced the use of banned pesticide monocrotophos by nearly 80% compared with 2024. However, it cited data from the Tea Research Association showing that nearly 85% of Assam tea failed residue tests due to acetamiprid and imidacloprid. The Central Insecticides Board approves the chemicals, but FSSAI has yet to notify final limits, it said.“We are being penalised for a regulatory gap that is not of our making. FSSAI must move quickly to set scientific, realistic MRL standards so that both growers and factories know exactly where they stand,” Gohain said.The association sought LC-MS testing laboratories and said 7.5-8 lakh kg of MRL-failed tea remained stored at the Guwahati auction centre.
Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers’ Association president addresses the media
