Tea garden owners must focus on innovation and branding of Assam Tea: Chandra Mohan Patowary

Vanijya Utsav & Mega Export Conclave

GUWAHATI: Coinciding with Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav of 75 years of Indian Independence, Tea Board of India; Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, and Industries, State Industries, Commerce and Public Enterprise Department has organized a two-day 'Vanijya Utsav & Mega Export Conclave' from September 21-September 22, 2021 at Sri Sri Madhavdeva International Auditorium, Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra.

Inaugurating the Vanijya Utsav, Industries, Commerce and Public Enterprise Minister Patowary said that the tea industry was facing lot of challenges and needed improvement in the quality of its tea production to survive and sustain in the ever-competitive international market. He appreciated the young entrepreneurs for their efforts in value addition of tea with ginger, jasmine and bhoot jolokia.

Taking note of tea garden companies using garden lands for plantation of segun and agar or selling off the tea estates, the minister stated that tea garden owners could not sell off their estates as the leased land still belonged to the Assam Government and instead asked them to focus on innovation and branding of Assam Tea.

Citing the example of Dubai Tea Park which sells most of the tea from Assam, the minister said that the Assam Government would be setting up a Tea Park at Chayygaon in Kamrup district which would have rail and port connectivity, cargo and warehouse amenities, processing facilities like tea grinding, blending, packaging and other utility services under one roof.

Inaugurating the 'Export Conclave' showcasing many local products, the minister asked the Industry Department officials to include the weavers in the upcoming India International Trade Fair (IITF), Pragati Maidan and to handhold them in Flipkart with which the Department has already signed a MoU to promote the State's local arts, crafts and handloom sectors.

Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Member of Rajya Sabha, mentioned that tea, the official state drink of Assam, was going to complete 200 years of its existence in 2023. "It is high time that tea industry needs multi-dimensional approach for holistic development in terms of value addition, tea tourism and entrepreneurship," added the MP.

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