GI mark for Assam tea soon: Jairam

Confident of better days ahead for Assam tea, Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh  said that it should also be able to secure the all-important geographical indication (GI) mark soon. “For the first time, Pakistan has allowed rail movement for importing Assam tea and this should facilitate swift movement of tea consignments from Assam to Pakistan,” Ramesh said.

India exported 16 million kg tea to Pakistan last year (2006), with Assam’s share being 2 million kg. The transit to Pakistan from Assam, however, had been a major constraint, as the consignments had to take the Guwahati-Haldia-Singapore-Colombo-Karachi route resulting in wastage of time and cost-escalation.

“With this irritant removed, the prospects of tea export to Pakistan have brightened,” Ramesh said.

The minister revealed that the formalities for accordance of GI for Assam orthodox tea as a brand were being completed, and it would become the second item after muga to have that status. “I had been hoping all along that tea would be the first product from Assam to get the GI mark, but muga has beaten tea in the race,” he added.

Ramesh also underscored the need to put thrust on both value and volume of tea. “Traditionally our emphasis has been more on volumes than on value. This needs to be changed and our approach should encompass both value and volume,” he said.

On the forthcoming international tea conference in Guwahati and Jorhat, Ramesh said that the event would open up new vistas for Assam tea, especially in areas relating to export. He said that the biggest foreign contingent was expected from Pakistan.

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