STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Due to climate change, Assam witnessed incessant rains in the past few days. The heavy rains resulted in floods in many parts of the State. Floods caused infrastructural damages and losses in the agricultural sector. The tea industry has also been adversely affected by the rains and floods.
This is the time of the year when the tea buds start to bloom. But the incessant rains have affected the blooming of tea buds. Small tea growers have expressed the apprehension that this will in turn affect tea production. The silver lining is that compared to previous years, bought leaf factories are paying a good rate to the small tea growers this time.
Talking to The Sentinel, the secretary of the Jorhat district committee of the All Assam Small Tea Growers’ Association, Krishna Prasad Sarmah said, “The favourable weather condition for a proper blooming of tea buds is rainfall during the night and sunlight during the day. However, as we have seen, there was continuous rainfall for 9-10 days. There was hardly any sunlight during the day. As a result, the tea buds have not been able to bloom properly and tea production has decreased. Small tea growers have been affected.
“But the good news is that for the last month or so, the bought leaf factories in Jorhat are giving a good rate to the small tea growers for green leaves. Bought leaf factories are paying minimum of Rs 25 per kg and if the green leaves are of good quality, they are paying a rate between Rs 30 to Rs 32 per kg.”
Sarmah further said that it had been a long-pending demand of the All Assam Tea Growers’ Association that the MSP (Minimum Support Price) of green tea leaves should be fixed at Rs 30 per kg. “We have time and again appealed to the government and the Tea Board to fix the MSP of green tea leaves at Rs 30 per kg. Small tea growers have suffered losses due to the low prices of green leaves. For the past month, bought leaf factories are giving a good rate for green tea leaves. It is our appeal that bought leaf factories should continue giving this rate even when tea production increases. There are around 20,000 small tea growers in Jorhat and they are all local, indigenous youths,” said Sarmah.
Bought tea leaf factories source their green tea leaf requirement from small tea growers to manufacture tea. The small tea growers account for more than 50% of the total tea production in Assam. They are a vital part of the State’s economy.
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