Darjeeling, June 5: Fearful of losing out to Nepal, Darjeeling tea planters have asked the government for more land to preserve the brand equity of their produce.

The Darjeeling Tea Planters’ Association said it needed to increase the produce of tea to take on Nepal, which has set an ambitious target of raising its tea production by 30 times the current yield in a decade.

The production figure of orthodox Darjeeling tea — 8.8 million kg last year — is currently much higher than that of orthodox Nepal tea, the yield of which is 0.8 million kg per year. Darjeeling planters, however, believe that with the Nepalese government giving top priority to the tea industry the ratio might undergo a change in the future.

The Nepal Industrial Enterprises Act has already accorded national priority status to the tea industry that allows a 50 per cent rebate on income tax duty, machinery and other equipment purchased for the industry.

The country has also formulated a national tea policy to hike the production of orthodox tea by 30 times the current yield in a decade. The policy offers a number of incentives like priority lending with flexible repayment schedule, rebate on land registration tax, grant of government land for tea cultivation on 50 years lease, creation of tea development fund and support for export promotion activities.

The aggressive promotion drive has already started paying off. Mitsui and Co. of Japan has agreed to purchase Nepal’s tea each year. The deal continues till 2010.

It has also managed to extract a promise from Pakistan that it would buy 2,000 tonnes of tea a year. The Pakistani Tea Association has further agreed to request its government to waive duty on Nepal tea. Sri Lanka also has offered to sponsor study tours for Nepalese students.

Sanjeev Seth, the secretary of Darjeeling Planters Club said: “We will face stiff competition from Nepal in the coming years. We have requested our government to allow conversion of the classified land under the grant area for plantation purposes.”

The DPA is also planning to undertake cultivation of tea in virgin areas of Darjeeling, especially in Kalimpong, to increase production.

The slump in the industry was reflected in last year’s produce. According to tea experts, the yield was the lowest in the history of Darjeeling tea.

Many planters have alleged that Nepal has taken advantage of the brand equity that Darjeeling tea enjoys in the international market. “Darjeeling tea can never be replaced as far as quality is concerned even though the plantation area of both countries are geographically contiguous,” said Seth, adding, “strong measures to check adulteration will be taken up immediately”.

The planters have also demanded that Darjeeling tea be patented.