Tea estates tend to be in remote, rural areas and as such, there have been few reports of infections in those areas to date. However, measures to combat the pandemic is having serious social and economic impacts on tea companies and their workers. Concerns facing the tea industry currently and potentially in the aftermath of the pandemic include:
– Loss of valuable crops-and wages – due to lockdown;
– Inability to process tea due to factory closures;
– Inability to sell tea due to closure of auction houses and reduced demand;
– Inability to transport tea due to road, rail, air and sea restrictions, and ports closures;
– Screening of returning migrant workers potentially carrying the virus;
– How to manage the virus if it enters tea estates – insufficient access to clean water and healthcare facilities and overcrowded housing;
– Long-term economic impacts of current financial hit;