Assam: All Stakeholders Favour A Minimum Floor Price For Tea

GUWAHATI: All stakeholders in the tea industry, including small tea growers, have struck a happy medium to fix a minimum floor price for tea as the only way forward for sustaining the industry in the country. This system, they feel, will be a win-win situation for all stakeholders, from producers to buyers to the government.

The representatives of the Indian Tea Association (ITA), Tea Association of India (TIA), Confederation of Small Tea Growers' Associations, Assam Tea Small Growers' Association, Bodoland Small Tea Growers' Association, etc., met at the launch of a book dedicated to the problems and prospects of the tea industry, 'Minimum Floor Price' in Guwahati.

The thrust at the meeting was on small tea growers not getting remunerative prices for their green leaves. Small tea growers' associations demand their inclusion under the Agriculture Department, which has certain schemes that may benefit them.

Dhunseri Groups chairman Chandra Kumar Dhanuka, who wrote the book, said, "Once the minimum floor price system comes, the small tea growers will get a minimum of Rs 35 per kg of green leaves that will give a proper return for their green leaves.

At present, small tea growers get Rs 20 per kg on average. This is insufficient to enjoy a minimum quality of life. This, in turn, will not only improve their livelihood; they will also pluck better-quality leaves, which will ensure good-quality and healthy teas are supplied to end customers."

Dhanuka further said, "To introduce the minimum floor price system, the government doesn't have to spend a single penny. The floor price is the price below which tea will not be sold at auctions for private sales for consumption in India. Any bid lower than the minimum floor price will not be accepted by the brokers for Indian consumption."

ITA and CCPA chairman Hemant Bangur said that the floor price has radically different approaches to mitigating the sustainability challenges of the Indian tea sector. If the floor price mechanism is implemented, it ought to be indexed to the cost of production for the tea producers, he said.

TAI president Sandeep Singhania said, "At a time when the tea industry is struggling with the situation of oversupply of sub-standard quality tea and tea prices not matching with the cost of production, it is imperative to have some formula of price recovery system that ensures a reasonable margin after covering the cost of production for the industry."

Rajeeb Gohain, a member of the Tea Board of India, said, "Small tea growers don't get remunerative prices for green leaves. The big tea companies need to see our grievances."

All Bodoland Small Tea Growers' Association president Rabi Ram Boro said, "The government needs to bring the small tea growers under the Agriculture Department. The non-inclusion of small tea growers in the agriculture department deprives them of the benefits of various agricultural schemes."

The representatives of the organisations of all stakeholders in the industry decided to hold another meeting to unitedly propose that the government introduce the system of 'minimum floor price' for tea.

ALSO READ: UASTPA Demands Random Checks on Illegally Transported Green Tea Leaves from Arunachal Pradesh to Tinsukia and Dibrugarh (sentinelassam.com)

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