No Cheers For Highest-Ever Tea Production!

GUWAHATI: Assam produced 691.98 million kg (mkg) of tea in 2018, the highest-ever tea production in the State. But the development has not brought cheers to the industry due to stagnant prices and consumption of tea.

Sources in the Tea Board of India said the last year’s production is a 2.48 per cent increase over that of 2017. Even though the production in Cachar district dropped by 0.42 per cent as compared to that of 2017, the decline has been adequately compensated by increase in production in the Brahmaputra valley.

“The highest-ever production is another success story for the tea industry of Assam. But we are extremely worried about stagnant prices of tea. While the cost of tea production is increasing every year, the prices refuse to go up,” an official in the industry said.

The official said under the present circumstances surplus production or highest-ever production is not good news for the industry.

“Consumption of tea has also not gone up over the years in Assam and the rest of India. The youths are not attracted to tea as the most preferred drink. So, what good the industry will do with such high production of tea,” a source said.

India also registered highest-ever tea production with 1338.63mkg in 2018 as compared to 1321.76mkg in 2017, an increase of 1.28 per cent.

South India has, however, registered a drop of 4.17 per cent in tea production as compared to that of 2017. West Bengal registered a 2.47 per cent increase as compared to that of 2017.

A small tea grower said there is an urgent need to immediately regulate tea production. “If the surplus production continues without simultaneous rise in prices of tea and consumption, the development may push the industry into bankruptcy. The Assam government and the Tea Board of India must accord top priority to the issue and resolve it,” the planter said.

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