As the Taiwanese economy took flight and individual incomes rose, some farms started to see a drift away from farm work, leading the tea industry into a gradual downward slide.
魚池分場製茶課課長黃正宗指出，民國七十年代以後出生的人幾乎都沒喝過台灣紅茶，因為產量少、也都拿去外銷了。當時紅茶是魚池、埔里農民養家活口的主要經濟來源，外銷歐洲拍賣市場一公斤未分級的粗製茶為一美金，相當於兩名工人的一天薪資。