KOLKATA: The Tea Board has ordered the closure of manufacturing units in the tea growing areas in North India during winter for a better crop in the first flush of next year.

As per the Board's order, the last date for plucking or receiving green leaves for all tea factories in Darjeeling, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand has been put at December 11.

While that for Dooars and Terai regions of West Bengal, and Bihar is December 23. The last date for processing of green leaf at the factories in Darjeeling, Sikkim, HP and Uttarakhand has been put at December 13, while that for Terai, Dooars and Bihar is December 26.

The order also said that the last date of completion of sorting, packing and moving the packed teas to notified storage areas with invoice marking has been decided to be on December 26 for Darjeeling, Sikkim, HP and Uttarakhand.

For Dooars, Terai and Bihar, it is January 6, 2024, for CTC variety and January 11 for the orthodox and green tea varieties. According to the tea industry, the closure of the tea gardens is due to 'winter dormancy' when the tea bushes do not grow and also give them time to rest.