Representatives of small tea growers from different states and office-bearers of the Indian Tea Association (ITA) and the Tea Association of India (TAI) have jointly demanded a 100 per cent auction of the produce.

On Tuesday, they held a meeting at Taj Bengal in Calcutta to discuss a slew of issues about the industry, ranging from the challenges to the strategies for the sustainable growth of the sector.

“After an elaborate discussion, those who attended the meeting unanimously demanded that a 100 per cent auction of made teas be introduced in the country. This is essential to ensure the sustainability of the industry and to ensure that a minimum price of made teas vis-à-vis the cost of production and quality is implemented in the sector,” said Bijoygopal Chakraborty, the president of the Confederation of the Indian Small Tea Growers Associations.

In recent years, the small tea sector contributed over half of the total tea produced in India.

The representatives of tea growers from Assam, north Bengal, Tamil Nadu and some other parts of the country attended the meeting.

Tea workers in a garden in the Terai plains

“We said the growers lack bargaining power, considering the perishable nature of the green tea leaves that we sell to bought-leaf factories (standalone tea processing units). Also, the price sharing formula that has been introduced by the Tea Board for our sector does not compensate our cost of production, and we need a fair and transparent pricing mechanism,” Chakraborty added.

A representative of the ITA who was present at the meeting said the industry was afflicted by climate change and detrimental weather conditions.

“For example, in north Bengal, the production suffered last year from the start of plucking till the monsoon because of erratic rainfall. While the leaves parched during the dry days, the plantations were submerged during flash floods. On the other hand, the prices at auctions didn’t increase much. Such issues are affecting both the small growers as well as the tea estates,” he said.

Prabir Bhattacharjee, the secretary general of the TAI, said the meeting was held to bring all stakeholders together so that they could work in unison to resolve issues affecting the industry’s growth.

“We intend to hold such meets in the future for the improvement of the Indian tea industry,” he said.