Nepal's tea production and exports have declined this season due to a widespread infestation of looper caterpillars, which has severely damaged tea bushes across major producing districts and destroyed between 25 and 30 percent of tea production nationwide.

The looper caterpillars destroyed tea buds and tender leaves, cutting green leaf production from an expected 120,000 kg to just 80,000 kg this season. Around 40,000 kg of tea leaves were lost to the infestation.

Tea exports declined by nearly 30 percent in the first five months of the current fiscal year (FY 2025/26). Both export volume and value have dropped.

Nepal exported tea worth Rs 3.17 billion, amounting to 13.47 million kg, in FY 2023/24. In FY 2024/25, tea exports rose to Rs 4.21 billion, with export volume reaching 15.42 million kg - an increase of 32.5 percent year-on-year.

However, exports have declined in the current fiscal year. In the first five months of FY 2024/25, tea worth Rs 2.70 billion (12.70 million kg) was exported. In the same period of FY 2025/26, exports fell to Rs 1.86 billion, with volume dropping to 6.56 million kg-a decline of 31.4 percent.

Source: Business Age (Extracts), Courtesy: Tea Exporters' Association Sri Lanka