Bought-leaf factory (BLF) owners based in north Bengal have expressed concern over the indiscriminate import of teas from other tea-producing countries.

They have sought immediate intervention of the tea board and the central government in the matter while underscoring that such imports are affecting their market across India.

“Cheaper teas are being imported from Nepal, Sri Lanka, and some other countries at the rate of ₹65 to ₹70 per kilo and are being sold in the Indian market. The import and sale of such teas in the domestic market is affecting our business greatly and many BLFs in north Bengal are facing financial crisis,” said Neeraj Poddar, the secretary of the North Bengal Tea Producers’ Welfare Association (NBTPWA), which represents the BLFs.

The rise in the number of small tea growers in Bengal, Assam and some of the south Indian states has also led to the mushrooming of BLFs or standalone tea processing units. They buy tea leaves from the small tea growers, process and sell the teas.

Last Saturday, the NBTPWA held a meeting with representatives of the Assam Bought Leaf Tea Manufacturers Association (ABLTMA) and the Federation of Indian Tea Manufacturers Association (FITMA), an apex body representing the BLF associations of north and south India.

“Back in the year 2000, we used to sell our teas at ₹65 to ₹70 per kilo. However, 25 years later, the price of a kilo of tea made in our BLFs is around ₹100, which leaves us with a very marginal profit of ₹5 to ₹10 per kilo. We are in a grave financial situation as our production cost is steadily increasing every year,” Poddar added.

MP glare on PF

Manoj Tigga, the BJP MP of Alipurduar, expressed his annoyance over the performance of a section of employees working at the Jalpaiguri office of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Wednesday.

Tigga reached the office and spoke with some employees who handle the provident fund accounts of tea workers.

“Earlier, I had come here and had asked for PF-related documents of the Lankapara tea estate (which is in Alipurduar district). They didn’t hand over any document to me despite my reminders. Tea workers are being harassed when they visit the EPFO office and being told that their documents have been misplaced. This can't go on,” said Tigga.

“If required, I will raise the issue in Parliament. I suspect an organised racket is working here to make money on the pretext of helping workers get their PF withdrawn,” the MP said.

Reacting to this charge, senior EPFO officials said that they had provided necessary information to the MP.

“If he needs further information, we will provide it to him. There is no question of documents getting misplaced as the entire process is online,” said an official.

Additional reporting by our Jalpaiguri correspondent