A Crisil Ratings report that the Indian tea industry will record an 8% dip in export revenue in the current fiscal has cast a dark shadow over the observance of 200 years of the industry in Assam. The tea industry in the state has already been grappling with a plethora of issues, including declining productivity, adverse climatic conditions, and rising labour costs. The decline in export revenue will only aggravate the problems unless the domestic market offsets the revenue loss. While tea exports registered a continuous slide for the past three consecutive months, the value of the country’s tea exports witnessed negative growth of (-) 6.6% in August over August 2022, according to the Tea Association of India. This has sounded the alarm bells for the industry. The tea industry is the largest employer in Assam and employs 4.35 lakh permanent workers and 7.95 lakh temporary workers; therefore, the profitability of tea businesses in the state is considered crucial for the socio-economic uplift of the households of these more than 1.2 million tea workers. Small tea growers again hitting the streets in the state over non-payment of remunerative prices for green leaves produced by them by Bought Leaf Factories indicates a larger crisis brewing. The situation warrants urgent attention by the Tea Board, the Assam government, and industry stakeholders. Assam accounts for more than 50% of total tea produced in India, of which about 1.22 lakh small tea growers contribute about 52% of total green tea leaves. These small tea growers employ about 5 to 6 lakh workers, and therefore, revenue growth in small tea gardens is crucial not just for the sustainability of small tea cultivation but also for the overall tea production and the livelihood of these workers. The All Assam Small Tea Growers Association has been raising the demand that bought leaf factories across the state should purchase green tea leaves produced in the state at the minimum benchmark price and pay higher prices for quality green leaves. The association has alleged that factory owners are paying much less than the minimum benchmark price, which the government should look into to prevent the stir from snowballing into a prolonged protest, as such disruption will adversely impact tea production in the state. The association has also flagged the issue of the purchase of green leaves from outside the state by tea factories. This is a legitimate demand, as the availability of green leaves at a cheaper price in neighbouring states will deprive the small tea growers, most of them first-generation Assamese tea cultivators who did not hanker after government or private secured jobs but started tea cultivation to generate employment to strengthen the state economy and the tea industry. The government facilitating the establishment of mini tea factories by small tea growers can be a pragmatic solution to address the most pressing issue of remunerative prices for green leaves produced by them. Ironically, the Tea Board has approved the establishment of mini and micro tea factories and fixed a 200 kg per day production limit for micro factories and a 500 kg production per day limit for mini factories. The state and central governments providing financial assistance in setting up mini or micro factories can go a long way in enabling tea processing by small tea growers and bought leaf factories and big plantations. In such a situation, small growers will also be required to pay a competitive price for an assured supply of green leaves. The financial viability and long-term sustainability of such mini or micro factories in view of changing tea market dynamics need to be studied carefully to find out if they would be able to sustain the competition with large bought-leaf factories in the supply of made tea. The problem faced by small tea growers can only be addressed by acknowledging the role of every single stakeholder in the industry, irrespective of their size of plantation, scale, or production. Extensive consultation, not confrontation among industry stakeholders, can help find workable solutions. Industry stakeholders together need to consider the projection by Crisil Rating that while domestic demand would remain at 82% of overall sales volume, export volume, which makes up about 30% of the sale value, would decline to 12% by volume from the current volume of 18%. The projected decline in export volume is attributed to an increase in tea production in Sri Lanka, where manufacturing costs are much lower owing to low labour costs compared to India. With tea accounting for a major share of the state’s export revenue, the state government cannot remain indifferent to the emerging crisis in the industry. The state government has already initiated a host of measures to uplift the socio-economic condition of garden workers in areas of health, education, connectivity, etc. The government can play a crucial role in addressing the issue of price stagnation to help the tea industry overcome the challenges ahead.