Siliguri, March 10: The already ailing industry might be in for another punch, this time from its European market.

Members of the European Union, one of the largest consumers of tea, have taken strong exception to the industry’s alleged indiscriminate use of harmful chemical pesticides on the bushes, said sources.

The German Tea Association, a member of the European Union (EU), has threatened to stop import of tea and ban the use of pesticides applied to the bushes by Indian tea planters by July this year, they added.

The Union has categorically stated that bulk export of tea from India to Europe would be severely hampered if any harmful banned chemicals were found in the tea samples.

The decision has jolted the tea exporters of the Darjeeling district of their stupor.

A worried Siliguri Tea Traders Association (STTA) has already started pointing fingers at the Tea Board, alleging that it was the “reluctance” of the body, to prescribe a limit on the amount of the pesticides used on the bushes, that had invited the trouble.

Sources at the STTA said Japan, a buyer of orthodox tea, had issued a similar warning last year but the board had done precious little about the pesticides.

“The tea growers and sellers should be more concerned with the deteriorating quality of the tea than the quantity that is being produced,” said Srawan Chowdhury, secretary of STTA. “Moreover, the Tea Board is not performing its duty. They need to maintain the standard of tea, at least the variety that is being exported, and also promote the industry,” he added.

The Terai Indian Planters Association (TIPA), however, denied that such a threat had been issued at the meet.

“I attended the International Tea Convention held at Calcutta recently. There, nothing was discussed specifically on the issue. May be, the Tea Board will put a limit on the quantity of pesticides to be applied to the tea bushes since tea cannot be grown in this region without chemical pesticides,” said Mohini Das, secretary of TIPA.

It is learnt that the visiting representatives of the EU have left a list of instructions with the Tea Board at Calcutta, detailing the names of the pesticides that can be used and the specific doses.

The list also suggests that the regulatory powers of the Tea Board be increased to allow the board can go through an elaborate process to evaluate the quality of the tea prior to export.