The Centre has come up with a Rs. 4700 crore Special Purpose Tea Fund for rejuvenation of the sagging Tea industry. The share of Assam would be 60 per cent of this fund. This was disclosed to the media by Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh, following a review meeting of the Tea sector  in the North-East held recently in Guwahati.The Government would start disbursing the amount from December this year and it will be spread over a 15-year period.

The Minister said that his ministry is reflecting on demands raised by Trade Unions to send all produced tea to auction centre for selling. Presently 43 per cent of the tea produced in Assam goes to auction centres while the rest is private sales. The Trade unions have raised this issue as the price realization difference between auction centre and private sales is quite high.

However, the Minister made it clear that all sales cannot be made mandatory at the moment through auction centres but his ministry and the Tea Board is working to bring in a condition/environment in which more producers and buyers should opt for the auction system.

Jairam Ramesh further revealed that two biggest IT giants in the world IBM and Accentise have provided an electronic system of auction in our country that is dead and total failure. He said that the chairman of the Tea Board has been given the responsibility to look for a better alternative for auction. Two new auction centres at Dibrugarh and Jorhat are to come up soon to act as satellite centre for the main auction centre for Guwahati.

Mr. Ramesh categorically affirmed that the Tea Board Head Quarters will remain in Kolkata but said that there is a proposal to open up a few more offices of the board in places like Dibrugarh and Jorhat.

The Minister acknowledged that the present condition of the Tea industry is poor. Old age of Tea plantations, continuing old methods and practices and stiff competition from country like Kenya and Vietnam were pointed out as the main reasons for the poor state of health of the said industry.The Minister stated that Pakistan, Egypt and Iran have been identified as potential market for Assam tea. Pakistan, despite being a big importer, takes very little tea from India, which happens to be the largest exporter. But the Minister pointed out that fresh efforts are being made to make inroads into the Pakistani market.

Jairam Ramesh also voiced his deep concern for small tea growers (consisting around 15 per cent of the total Assam tea) of the State, who are faced with serious problems. The decision has been taken to ask respective State Governments and statutory authorities to strictly monitor and take remedial measures for implementation of the plantation labour Act and all other Central and State legislation for the welfare of the workers. Similarly, Tea marketing is also an area that needs immediate attention. The Tea Board will develop a viable business model for sale of green leafs by workers’ co-operatives/SHG’s.

The Ministry of Commerce, in collaboration with the Tea Board, has also decided to start an international tea festival to  highlight Indian Tea. The first edition of the festival will be held in Guwahati in March 2007. The event will be included in the tourism calendar of the country, informed the Minister. 

Decisions taken at the Review meeting

It was decided that the respective State Governments and other statutory authorities would be requested to strictly monitor and take remedial measures for the implementation of the Plantation Labour Act and all other Central and legislation for the welfare of workers.

It was decided that the Tea Board, with the help of the Trade Unions, Tea Associations and estates where similar models are working successfully would  develop a viable business model for sale of green leaf by workers’ cooperatives/self-help groups. A business model for workers’ cooperative for the full running of an integrated tea estate would also be developed.

It was decided that all the stake-holders would assist the Tea Board to work out a definitive road map for the introduction within a period of one year, a system of primary marketing largely through a transparent system of auction. The road map would set milestones for the large-scale introduction of e-auctions ultimately leading to a replacement of the manual auction system, the introduction of ex-garden sale under the aegis of the auction system, providing incentives for the auction route both by the State and Central Governments and other innovative measures and reforms of the existing system so that the market functions without distortions.

It was further decided that the Tea Board as the licensing authority would expeditiously dispose of any application submitted before it by the Guwahati Tea Auction Committee or any other responsible body for the setting up of new auction centres at Dibrugarh and Jorhat, after obtaining the views of the Government of Assam.

It was decided that the Government of India would review the rates of incentive presently payable to producers of orthodox tea and would examine whether an additional incentive could be given for the production of organic tea.It was decided that the overseas markets of Pakistan, Egypt and Iran would receive particular focus as potential markets for Assam tea; existing markets such as the UK would also be targeted.It was decided that the Tea Board would launch a sustained campaign for the domestic promotion of tea, both in the print and the electronic media.

It was decided that the Government of India would look into the demand it on the extension of general transport subsidy available in the North-Eastern states to the plantation sector.It was decided that matters relating to setting up of the proposed Special Purpose Tea Fund for uprooting-replanting and rejuvenation-pruning would be up for expeditious disposal so that the benefits from the SPTF could flowing by the time the winter-dormancy period begins in North East India.It was decided that the Tea Board would take steps so that the implementation of the price sharing formula for the small growers introduced from April 2004 is significantly improved and the scheme itself suitably amended.

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