Small tea growers toss green leaf on National Highway 37 at Moran in Dibrugarh district on Tuesday to protest against falling prices. Picture by Raju Mishra

Jorhat, Oct. 18: It’s double whammy for small tea growers in Assam with the Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufactures’ Association warning that it would have to stop buying green leaf if they are forced to pay “exorbitant rates” for green leaf at a time when excessive production has pulled down leaf demand.

In a letter to Dispur yesterday, the president of the association, K. Sensowa, said over-production of green leaf in recent times and strategic refusal by big tea companies to purchase green leaf, has resulted in diversion of these surplus leaves to the bought leaf factories.

“Bought leaf factories are being compelled to purchase green leaf sometimes because of rueful appeals from suppliers and sometimes under threat, irrespective of the production capacity of the factories. We are also being forced to purchase poor quality leaf,” Sensowa said.

Prices of green leaf have nose-dived, prompting small tea growers to demand immediate steps from the authorities to stabilise prices of green leaf.

Small tea growers even dumped green leaf on the national highways a few days back as a mark of protest.

Even today, the Kokrajhar District Committee of All Assam Small Tea Growers Association blocked National Highway 31 (C) at Karigaon in protest against a drop in prices of green tea leaf.

Several vehicles were stranded for over an hour because of the blockade.

“Price of green tea leaf has come down to Rs 4 per kg. It is pathetic that the government of Assam and the Tea Board have not paid any heed to the problems faced by small tea growers, who contribute 28 per cent to the total production of the state and employ huge number of educated and rural poor people of the state,” said Prabin Goyagry, president of the association.

The series of protests forced the Tea Board to decide on implementation the Tea Marketing Control Order from October 20.

The implementation of the order would ensure a price-sharing formula between the producers and manufactures.

Sensowa said the slump in the market and rise in production of green leaf have prompted the organised sector factories to close their gates on the small growers and the green leaf are being diverted to the bought leaf factories.

“The sudden refusal by the organised sector to purchase green leaf has also resulted in overgrowth of tea bushes. Small tea growers have resorted to plucking coarse leaf and the bought leaf factories are being forced to buy these leaves. The quality of tea will only deteriorate under such circumstances,” he said.

Sensowa said the bought leaf factories were ready to adhere to the tea marketing control order but steps should also be taken by authorities to ensure that the small tea growers should supply good quality tea leaf.

“How can one expect the bought leaf factories to produce good quality tea when small tea growers supply poor quality tea leaf? Forget about the two leaves and a bud, sometimes they supply us with foot-long tea branches,” he said.

He said steps should be taken to ensure that prices of the green leaf are fixed according to the quality of green leaf supplied by small tea growers.

“We are ready to pay high prices if we get good quality tea leaf,” he said.