Stakeholders of the small tea sector, who contribute over half of the tea produced in India, have approached the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, seeking immediate intervention to put in place a minimum sustainable price for green
tea leaves.

A delegation of the Confederation of Indian Small Tea Growers Associations (Cista), an apex body that represents 2.5 lakh tea growers of the country, met senior officials of the Union commerce and industry in Delhi on Thursday and submitted a memorandum addressed to minister Piyush Goyal.

The North Bengal Tea Producers Welfare Association (NBTPWA), an association of the bought-leaf factories (BLFs) of north Bengal and some parts of the neighbouring state of Bihar, sent a letter to Goyal on Friday, underscoring they were in crisis and that imminent steps from the Centre were required for the improvement of the tea sector.

Bijoygopal Chakraborty, the president of Cista, led the delegation, which comprised representatives from different tea-producing states of the country, to Delhi.

Kesang Y. Sherpa, a joint secretary at the ministry, was present at the meeting with some other officials of the ministry and the tea board, said sources.

“We demanded a minimum sustainable price for the green tea leaves, that is, ₹35 a kilo or so, to protect growers from distress sale. The delegation highlighted the need to impose 100 per cent duty on teas imported into the country and that all teas should be checked by the FSSAI,” said Chakraborty.

The representatives of Cista asked the Centre to recognise them as farmers so that they were eligible for benefits as farmers under government schemes.

“Small tea growers are the silent drivers of the Indian tea economy as they contribute around 53 per cent of India’s tea production. We did get certain assurances from the ministry,” the Cista president added.

The BLF owners, who buy tea leaves from the growers, process and sell them through auction centres and also in private, have also highlighted the lower price realisation of teas in their letter to Goyal.

Sanjay Kumar Agarwal (Dhanothi), the president of NBTPWA, said they have around 200 BLF owners as members in north Bengal and Bihar. In north Bengal, the BLFs account for over 55 per cent of the total tea produced.

“The tea industry in this region is in doldrums, and we urged the Union minister for an early intervention. The tea section in north Bengal is hit due to poor price realisation because of which the BLFs are falling sick,” he said.

According to him, the maximum price of teas fetched by the BLFs in public auction and private sale ranges from ₹90 to ₹98 per kilo, which is below their cost of production.